Devil Wind
by Craxuan
Summary: For two years Blake Belladonna lived peacefully at the small town of Bamborsa; unimaginably happy, and yet constantly afraid that one day she may lose it all forever. She isn't wrong. When an odd pair of Huntresses arrive she will soon learn that choice is but an illusion, and her fate worse the broken toy of a naughty child. She will bleed. She will break. And then - she will die.
1. Devil Wind - Prologue

**Author's Note: The Sequel to 'Fire & Gold', 'Devil Wind' is finally done! That took much longer than I would have liked and even has less word count than before, but ultimately, I hope that the extra time help contributed into crafting a deeper and more intricate story.**

**The tone won't be too different than 'Fire & Gold'; the reason being Ruby and Yang stealing quite a bit of thunder and Blake... well, you'll just have to read to know further. What I can say is that this Arc is something like the prologue to Blake Belladonna's true life, the story of how she came to shed her old self completely and return anew. And kind of like how you look back at your high school/teenage self and want to strangle them before they embarrass themselves further, some of Blake's sentiments may feel slightly cringe-worthy. Sorry!**

**As usual, I will be posting one chapter per day, or per two days if there are real life issues that take first priority or 'emergency' edits. With some luck and intentional blindness I won't be tempted to supplement the Arc with additional chapters.**

* * *

><p><strong>Devil Wind - Prologue<strong>

* * *

><p>It was night. A young woman of pale complexion and black, flowing hair shut the leather bound volume in her hands and exhaled in contentment. She had been sitting here for the past seven or eight hours going through book after book, absorbing every bit of information at this treasure trove of knowledge also known as a library. Ever since she discovered this place two years ago, the black-dressed woman had made it a priority to visit here as often as she could.<p>

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, very. It's refreshing to read about various histories of The Black War without the usual embellishments, distortions and outright fabrications that plagued similar works."

As usual, the librarian could only scratch his head wryly at her unusually blunt statements, while Blake Belladonna merely smiled kindly in return. She wore a black buttoned vest with coattails, with white, sleeveless undershirt that covered just short of her midriff. Her stockings were a pair of black fading into purple as it reached her feet, and at its sides sewed solemn belladonna flowers of pure white. A pair of black, low-heeled boots sat idly at a corner just a hand's stretch away from her sitting, and as she hooked them over elegantly to her side with a pair of toes, the equally black-haired young man asked knowingly,

"Going home already? That's a little earlier than usual."

She slipped into her boots and stood up, hands patting away at dusts that might have accumulated on her clothes, not missing either the black detached sleeves at her left arm or the twin ribbons wrapped around her wrists. Finally, with obvious concentration and effort, she tidied with detailed care the black ribbon bow perched tightly atop her head. The librarian looked like he wanted to say something, but controlled himself. By now Blake had been here long enough that no one could miss her obvious love for the seemingly insignificant piece of decoration, or the fact that she never took it off no matter where she went. Every time he inquired, she would deal with the attention with a half-smile and glare, and although he got the hint soon enough the curiosity in his eyes never quite faded away. Blake hid within her heart a sigh; some day that natural inquisitiveness was going to get him in trouble.

"The usual errands to run."

"Right. Any chance you'll tell me your secret businesses today?"

"Unfortunately, no," Blake remarked amusedly as she carefully tidied up the stack of read books and balanced them on one arm, "Why ask? You know I always leave around this time of the week."

The librarian hurried over to relief her of some load, and slowly they navigated together the small maze of shelves together while meticulously putting the read volumes back to where they belonged, "Yeah, well. I wanted to ask you something, and well, I was kind of hoping to have a bit more time, but well –"

"Elliot," Blake said gently, "Calm down."

"Right! Right…" the librarian took a deep breath before continuing, "Two days later, on Sunday, it will be my… birthday. Now I know! I know, that you're usually busy at that time, but maybe, just maybe… would you like to celebrate it with me?"

Her amber eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed into slits, the expression giving her the distinct look of a cat scrutinizing its prey. The young man gulped visibly at the all-too-familiar penetrating gaze, but he held it long enough to convince Blake he was serious, "I… see. That's great, Elliot, congratulations. But you know I don't like gatherings."

"Oh no, it'll only be you and me," the moment the words flew out of his mouth the librarian started blabbering again, "I – I – I mean! This _is _a library after all, so of course we can't have everyone gather around here."

"Why not have it somewhere else, then?"

"Well, uh," A leftward glance to the ground, mindless shuffling of the feet. How predictable, "You know. Reasons."

It was quite late already, so Blake decided to spare him just this time and skipped to the next question, "How about your family? Won't they want to celebrate it with you too?" Blake asked.

"Yes, but I've already told them to have it earlier during the evening. So I'll still have time to come here," Elliot replied.

"If that is the case, then surely there's no reason to celebrate a second time," Blake said indifferently.

"But there is," her friend insisted, "_You_. Of course I'm happy to celebrate my birthday with my family, but I also want to do it with you. I would have invited you to the party, but you know," Elliot winked an eye and Blake rolled hers, "You."

Blake leaped lightly from where she stood, and with incredible deftness shoved the final book into the highest shelf. As usual, Elliot was gawking even though it really wasn't anything special, but then she was used to such expressions. With that done she turned to face Elliot with a look of slight puzzlement, "I don't understand. Why me? I'm just a regular here. A nobody."

"Don't say that," the librarian said softly, "To me, you're a very good friend. Or do I not count?"

Blake bit her lips before replying, "Sorry, I don't mean it that way. Yes you are. It's just that I really am not sure if I can make the time. Saturday is unfortunately not… right."

Her friend's shoulders slumped at the cool statement, but he brightened up quickly and suggested, "Okay, what if we celebrate it a day earlier then? Or the day after?"

It wasn't. Blake had a very good reason to avoid human company on any of those days, and on any other occasion she would have refused similar invitations, Elliot or not. In the first place, the reason she chose to frequent the library was precisely for its lack of human traffic and popularity. It just seemed contradictory to participate in a party right here, even if the only attendees would be her and Elliot.

Still, she could not outright refuse him. In regards to this matter, Blake agreed wholeheartedly that a birthday was the most important occasion in a person's life, and she did not like the idea of causing her friend regrets on such a day. Ah, curses, she just maneuvered herself into a corner, didn't she? Blake allowed herself a tiny grimace and said, "You really want me here, do you?"

"Of course! It will mean a lot for me if you come," Elliot chirped when sudden mischief twinkled in his eyes, "And who knows, I might even let you take out some of the more precious books. Don't deny it, I know you've been eyeing 'Red Stanza – The Unsaid Truth of The Moon' for quite some time now."

Blake rolled her eyes again at the blatant bribery, but could not resist a small smile of her own. It was her own fault that she fell in love with books, after all. Those golden, feline eyes gazed enigmatically into the burning hearth, and finally, as she lifted a pail of water to douse out the flames, the young woman finally nodded, "Okay. I'll see you on Sunday night then. But if you don't see me by twelve then go home; I don't want your family to get worried."

"_Yes!" _The young man leaped so ecstatically into the air that he nearly knocked himself over a table. Blake could only smile wryly at his exaggerated antics as he quickly controlled himself and asked sheepishly,

"Ah, sorry. So, what kind of cake do you like? Chocolate, vanilla, cheese, or would you prefer fruits?"

"I thought this is your birthday, Elliot."

"Yes, but my family would have bought my favorite flavor already – which by the way is cheese with strawberries and crisp biscuit fillings – and if I'm going to do this twice, I might as well taste something different, right?"

"I suppose. But I don't have any particular preference so, just the standard chocolate will be fine."

"Blake Belladonna! I know you're usually indifferent about such things, but this is a cake, a _cake _we're talking about! How can you _not _be excited?"

"A librarian with a fetish for cakes? This world is hopeless."

"_What? _It is _not _a fetish!"

As the duo turned off the lights and locked up the main door, exiting the library into night air chattering away as only close friends could, Blake Belladonna felt content, happy and at peace. She looked up to the skies, savoring quietly the sight of countless stars shimmering from above. Yes, this was the life she had always yearned for. This was everything she ever wanted. If she was to meet a genie, then the only thing she would ever wish was for this little, tranquil peace to last forever.


	2. Devil Wind - Devil Come

**Author's Note: Suddenly I felt like I should have included this Ruby/Yang section under the Prologue, but what's done is done.**

**Oh, and Yang prays creatively when she's desperate. Who knew?**

* * *

><p><strong>Devil Wind - Devil Come<strong>

* * *

><p>"O mighty lord, how I thank thee who hast made, who had led thy misguided sheep across thy land and into glorious civilization, who –"<p>

"Yang, if you don't shut up right now I'm going to leave you and forbid you from entering any towns here on out."

"Oh god please anything but that I'm coming_ wait!_"

Ruby Rose, a red-haired, crimson-cloaked fifteen years old young girl strode fast and steady across the grassy plains as her partner chased fervently to catch up. She had a petite figure and a youthful baby face, and to the stranger's eyes she easily looked a harmless and endearing child that needed protection from her guardians. However, Ruby was in truth a former Executioner who once worked for the most secretive Demon hunting organization in all of Remnant, and there weren't too many beings in this world, Grimm or Humans or Exotics, that could give her a hard time.

Following right behind her, slightly out of breath and lugging around an enormous bag pack was a tall girl of golden hair and violet eyes named Yang Xiao Long. The moment their figures aligned she placed a firm hand on Ruby's shoulders to slow her down, and almost instantly the latter's face bristled with annoyance. But without a word she consciously matched the blonde's pace, and ignoring the twinkle of mischief in Yang's eyes they made steady progress towards their choice of destination. Wildly beautiful and free of spirit, this carefree young lady was the daughter of Yang Ju Long, crime lord of the metropolis Jiu Xu, and while nowhere near Ruby's superiority in combat Yang was still a fairly capable Huntress on her own. At the least, there was no doubt that her unique, dual attribute Semblance had played a critical role in saving her own home from sure destruction.

A month and a half ago Yang and Ruby stumbled into each other at the metropolis Jiu Xu, and together they had defeated a terrible ancient Demon that came very close to destroying the city with unimaginable horrors. Later, Yang would decide to leave her home in order to join the former Executioner in her journey; so that she might finally seek out and save her best friend that went missing many years ago. Since then, the duo had been trekking relentlessly northwest through a score of forests, broad plains and countless tiny hills, with each unexplored landscapes raining new challenges upon the unlikely duo. The demanding pace at which Ruby Rose drove them was harsh on the inexperienced brawler, but Yang had never uttered a word of complaint and kept up with a kind of cheerfulness that surprised even the surly scythe wielder.

To Yang though, it was only natural: all her life she had been wishing to see the outside world without chains, and that desire had only grown stronger as she undertook more and more responsibilities as the heiress to an underworld kingdom. But now that she was free to live the life she always dreamed of Yang was determined to enjoy every last bit of it, and she swore that unless the heaven itself fell from the skies it would take more than just Mother Nature's farts to stop her. True to her vow the blonde had never complained about the harshness of their journey, although for the most part she was too busy fawning over the many gorgeous, never-seen-before realm of Remnant like an overly excited child.

But euphoria never lasts forever, and the counterbalancing element that grinded through even her unlimited optimism was called 'homesickness'. Yang had lived most of her life boisterous, joyful and sassy, and although her younger days were kind of a social mess human interaction had always been an important part of her life. She had expected to some degree that she was going to miss fooling around with her lackeys, laughing together with Nora and Ren, and even all those loud, grating noise of a city that made home felt home. She just did not – could not possibly have – expect homesickness to hit so _hard _and so swiftly, and the nights where she wept uncontrollably was but one of the many other symptoms that plagued her adventure. At least Ruby never commented anything about her shameful breakdown, although the young girl's stone cold silence throughout the entire trip was about as helpful as tits on a snake.

So on day forty-one, during a particularly difficult trek through a swampland running amok with mosquitoes and ribbiting toads, Yang Xiao Long finally broke down and begged on her knees for Ruby to lead them towards a city, town, village, or anything that resembled a settlement with actual people living inside it. At first Ruby had shot down the suggestion without mercy, as she was unaccustomed to any delays save the most essential, but after three days of endless nagging Ruby finally relented and led them reluctantly towards the closest town on the map. Anything to stop those ghoulish moans that had her half-believed that she was haunted by the dead.

"I don't understand how you can live for _months_ and not talk to anyone, big sis," Yang said, whistling shrilly without end ever since they spotted the town at the horizon, "Like, seriously. How can you not feel like your very _soul_ is rending apart?"

"Contrary to popular belief, people don't die from loneliness, Yang. But they _do _die with a bullet in their heads," Ruby sighed while rubbing away at the beginnings of a massive headache, but inside her heart she was secretly glad that Yang was back to normal. She much preferred the hyperactive idiot to the madwoman who strung together litanies of curses and muttered them like a mantra, "You know why. I'm a fugitive of The Order, and you're the daughter of the hero Yang Ju Long. We need to stay anonymous, and that means avoiding all human contact unless absolutely necessary."

"Well, _fuck me _if I'd rather be taking chances with the bullets then; at least they're _someone_ shooting! I'm no robot or animal, big sis, I'll go crazy if I can't talk to well, _anyone!_"

"_What _did you just call me?" Ruby shot a deadly glare at the blonde and was immensely gratified to see her squirm, "But to the point, it is inefficient to stop at every civilization we pass by, not only because we're running on a schedule but also that we have enough supplies to last another month. I would never have come here if it wasn't for your mental health."

"But that's not the – hmm? Oh ho? Oh ho _ho?_" Abruptly the blonde's attitude changed into that of a vixen, and Ruby was struck by the undeniable feeling that she had made a terrible mistake, "Did I hear that right? It was for _me _that you visited this town, my _beloved_ sister?"

"W-well of course! You were practically screaming about it for three bloody days!" Ruby said it a little too quickly _and_ with a faint blush on her cheeks. _Massive _mistake, Ruby Rose, "How am I supposed to travel properly with you moaning every second like it's the end of the world? It's a, uh, a hazard to my health! Right!"

Upon hearing those words, Yang gave her biggest smile of the day yet and began trotting closer towards the young girl, "So you _do _care about me, big sis! I am so _happy!_"

"Oh no, Yang. Do not. You hear me? Do. _Not,_" Ruby stepped away slowly and snaked a lightning hand for her gun, but it was already too late. Before she could move Yang caught her on both sides of the shoulders and with a fwump, instantly crushed the young girl into a smothering hug.

"If you're that worried you should've just said so! Love is an emotion that needs expressing, you know, like _this!_"

"MMMMMAAggh! Stop it, you – _Umph! Mmmmrrrrrghhhh!_"

Needless to say, their arrival at Bamborsa was greatly delayed as Ruby drew forth from a pool of obscene creativity she didn't know existed to yell at Yang for two hours straight, and when they did arrive the latter was hung upside down on a tree well away from any people, food or water until very late into the night. She could've escaped of course, except that no person in their right mind would even try after listening to the ghastly threats Ruby swore upon her soul to do the moment she reached anywhere near the ropes, starting with her hair – the _fiend!_ Yang almost wished that she did not play that little prank on Ruby. Almost.

They did not yet realize that their temporal stay would spark the beginning of a change. It would mean nothing at all to many, a turning point for some, and the end of everything for those whose fate were destined to hurl forever like a ship in a stormy, black sea.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Bell! Pass me a bag of cement will you? Last round of the day!"<p>

"In a minute!"

It was late Saturday evening. Blake Belladonna was doing her full time at a home construction site, lifting and cementing and controlling cranes and whatever else that needed to be done just like any other job. At the moment, she was scanning the immediate steel structure before her while methodically going through every nook and cranny to ensure that the columns were bolted firmly in place. It was tedious work and her paycheck was just modest, but that did not mean she could trade someone's safety for a moment of tardiness. When the check was finally done, she lifted her safety helmet slightly to wipe the sweat off her forehead, and with a sigh descended the ladder to reach for a new bag of cement stacked at the far end of the site. The older man nodded in thanks when she returned with the needed goods.

"Want me to help with the mortar?" Blake offered, but the bare-chested man simply shook his head and said amiably,

"No, it's fine. You did good work today, so just go to wherever you need to be. It's time, isn't it?"

"It is," Blake nodded with a smile, "As usual, thank you for the work, Berry. It's been a pleasure."

"The pleasure's mine," Berry scratched his head with a strange look on his face, "Look Bell, I don't want you to take this badly, but you're a seriously weird one, you know that?"

"How so?"

"To begin with, you're thanking _me,_ for _this _job. This isn't exactly a girl's work – not that you're bad; I haven't met many as hardworking as you actually," the older man quickly added, "But just… why _this?_ You definitely can do better - I know you can read all those mumbo jumbo scientific Dust stuff. Hell, I'm not even _sure _you need to work – you can literally charm the cash off dear ol' Mother Mary Casino if you want to."

"All play and no work makes for an unhealthy life," Blake replied mildly, "I read for long hours, and this is the only job I find that can balance my lifestyle. I also remember you dislike the idea of 'playing' for a living."

"That's advice for the hardcore gamblers who aren't good enough to keep their own pants. You on the other hand..." the old man shook his head as if to throw off a bad memory before continuing, "Anyway, am I hearing you correctly? You're here for the _exercise?_"

"Yes. Why?"

"_Why? _You –" When he looked into her eyes and realized that she was serious, the old man shook his head again with mock drama, "_Seriously? _You know that if you're anyone else I'm going to call bullshit and cuff their heads with this hammer, right?"

"I... see," Blake said uncertainly, "Is it not... normal? Should I stop?"

"No, no, _no_. It's totally fine, don't worry about it, and forget I ever said anything. Argh, how can you possibly be the same girl who kicked my ass in a Game?" Berry rubbed the sides of his head grumpily and tried to resume his work. When he noticed that Blake was still standing at the side like a statue, he sighed,

"You've done well today, Bell. Now go back home and have a good rest, okay?"

Only then Blake finally budged from her stillness, and with a solemn bow she replied, "Yes. I shall be taking my leave then. Have a nice day, Berry."

"Stop that! You know it gives me the creeps, sheesh!"

Berry scratched his head and looked pointedly away in embarrassment. It was apparent that even after a year and a half knowing Blake Belladonna, the old man - or anyone but that librarian and his sister, probably - still could not get used to her eccentric behaviors. Working just a few meters to their side a couple of colleagues laughed even as Berry hollered right back with a frothing sway of the beard. Blake cocked her head in slight confusion, but ultimately decided that she was still free and went into the changing room. When she got out adorned in her usual black-and-white outfit, she waved goodbye to her coworkers and headed straight for her apartment, walking slowly to savor the cool air and touch of fading sunlight. Along the way she met a few acquaintances and made small talks, and when she finally reached home she practically dove for the long awaited shower that would wash away the day's fatigue and exhaustion. Blake sighed contentedly underneath the pour, feeling like she could just doze off on her feet. It had definitely been a long day. When Blake finally exited the bathroom, she brushed a hand over the trusty firearm atop the lamp table, and stared through filtered windows the final moments of today's sunset. So ends another day of quiet peace and fulfillment.

But the night had only just begun.


	3. Devil Wind - Premonition

**Author's Note: I am so freaking tired I have to wake up eight tomorrow for a garage sale, THEN go to work to wrap up some stuff. And my friends had the gals to ask me go hiking at eight, again, the day after. You know, because weekends are days where you don't get to sleep?**

* * *

><p><strong>Devil Wind - Premonition<strong>

* * *

><p>Ruby Rose wanted to die.<p>

It was their second day in Bamborsa, and under Ruby's suggestion the duo did a little exploring to learn various notable landmarks around the town, and in general familiarize with their surroundings. Although small, Bamborsa was a curiously advanced settlement with tall walls and high gates to protect itself behind a formidable defensive line. The design was obviously made in consideration of Grimm invasions, and a brief inspection of the stones revealed that they were indeed tough and maintained in well condition. However, the two main gates of the town – North and South, resembling gigantic portcullises of thick steel – were kept open twenty four hours a day for every day traffic, and although the South Gate was situated right next to a Grimm-populated forest there hadn't been any major attacks for the past two years, so it stayed up just as long.

Strangely enough, the gate guard they were inquiring to looked like he wanted to add something else to that sentence, but in the end he decided against it and bid them farewell. Ruby let the matter go after Yang gestured for her to leave; there would always be time to learn about strange news later.

As expected, in accordance to Vytal's standard city design most of the infrastructures were centered at the middle of the town before sprawling outward to the countryside. The town hall, hospital, police station, and banks were all there, although neither Ruby nor Yang were in any way interested as they simply crossed them off the map (a local copy provided at the reception counter of the inn). The only public library in town – In Dust We Trust – was slightly more notable, as it was a grander structure that boasted of nearly one million books, but again the duo could not care less about literature and simply admired the round-shaped building from afar. The same dull pattern recurred for practically the entire length of their tour, and although Ruby did stop once at a Dust and Weapons shop with eyes sparkling with curiosity and greed, Yang did the right thing of pulling her away before she lost control of her wallet.

And then there was the residential construction site where Ruby stood and glared at for a very long time.

"C'mon, big sis! There's nothing to see here!" Yang said in frustration as she pulled at the former Executioner, trying to budge her from the rooted spot. It would take a full minute before Ruby finally nodded reluctantly and said,

"I guess you're right. Let's go."

Nothing much happened for the rest of the time, and when they returned to the hotel it was already late evening. Ruby fully expected the day to end with just a warm dinner and restful sleep, but little did she know that the playful blonde had other plans in mind. While they were tidying themselves before their meal, Yang asked casually whether the young girl would want to visit the local bar and, _well,_ catch some interesting rumors and such. For lawful reasons, Ruby had never stepped into a bar without an adult escort, not even during her Executioner days as her handlers were unusually strict regarding this matter. Ruby still had shivers recalling the consequences of sneaking into one such establishment without her Master's permission, and suffice to say, she would sooner ban herself from the place than relive the nightmarish experience once more.

But even with her miniscule drinking experience, Ruby did know that it was the best place to gather all kinds of useful information, and considering that they were embarked on a risk-filled journey any news about the route ahead would always be valuable. Plus, with Yang throwing a noisy tantrum and being unusually persuasive about the greatest substance ever in the entire galaxy called alcohol, she ultimately agreed to the suggestion just to shut her up. It was _the _biggest mistake of her entire life. The warning signs were all there to be seen really, what's with the crazy whoops of cheer and unusual maintenance of Ember Celica, but Ruby still did not realize her mistake when they entered the fine-looking bar and Yang starting off immediately with a double shot Absinthe, then a Flaming Lamborghini right after. You should _not _look up any of those names. When Yang was down to her _fourth _glass of the burning abomination Ruby finally thought it could be a bad idea, but of course it was already too late.

So that was how she came to be here, downing glass after glass by herself in pure misery – _common _beer please, for Remnant'ssake! –as she desperately tried to pretend that the crazy, screeching blonde brawling through a horde of equally crazy idiots behind her did not exist. How did she not see this coming? A drunken Yang went to rock the dance floor, and someone tried to feel her up; Yang permanently ended his hopes of siring any children in life, and blah, blah, blah, the rest was history. Ruby dimly remembered that she was here to 'catch some interesting rumors', but as another fresh victim hailed past her head all she wanted to do was _die_ and be freed from this disastrous reality. Instead she settled for more beer – god _bless the souls _of the people who created these drinks – and swore solemn oaths to the Gods and Elementals and even the Grimm that she would never, _ever _join Yang in any one of her nightly outings again. _Never_.

"Your friend sure is a loud one, miss," the bartender – about fifty years of age with an impressive white quiff and thin-lidded eyes – gestured as he passed over a new glass. Immediately she drained it down to the last drop, savoring the glorious spiraling sensation assaulting her brains before gazing with puzzlement at the old man. After all of that bullshit, and Yang was just _loud? _What an absolutely _wonderful _human being! Her head might be spinning like a roulette, but Ruby understood that she should probably say something as a gesture of good faith. Even a simple thank you would suffice.

"I'm underage," Ruby blurted out before slamming her own face onto the counter. She was an idiot, an _idiot. _The girl was ready to grab Crescent Rose and blow out her own brains before the bartender laughed aloud and said,

"I can see that. But it is said that a woman's mental age is three years mature than their actual one, so you're just fine, young miss," he gave her a little wink before continuing, "But I must confess my curiosity. What is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a place designed to turn sane men _and _women into morons?"

As he flicked the pointed tip of his hair at the groaning crowd Ruby broke out in genuine laughter, "Ahahahaha! Well, obviously I'm here for a couple of drinks," she wiggled her index finger as the bartender passed over a new glass wryly, "And of course, to catch up on the latest news around the corner. But as you can see, the people aren't exactly… _inclined _to speak right now."

The bartender winced as one of the wooden tables snapped under a mountain of crushing weight, and nodded, "At least they're sober enough not to fight on this side of the bar. But exactly what kind of news are you trying to seek, miss? I may just have the solution to your troubles."

"Oh?" The cloudy mercury behind her eyes lessened in an instant, "That will be _great!_ I hope you don't mind if I cut straight to the chase then. Has there been any, ah, _dangers_ in or around town for the past few months?"

"An interesting enquiry. Within Bamborsa, I must say that things have been relatively peaceful. We are a small but strongly united community, so serious conflicts or even murders rarely happen here. For example, the men behind you may be fighting it out like sworn enemies, but come next day they will all be friends again. Although I guess Gray will not be recovering in while, I suppose," the bartender eyed the poor guy who was still twitching on ground while clutching his crotch, "A _very_ longwhile."

"Peace is all nice and dandy, but that's not why I come here," Ruby barely acknowledged the nobody before yawning lazily into one hand, "No offense. What about outside Bamborsa? I've heard about Grimm in the forest right next to the big gate."

"Ah yes, the Southern Gate forest. You saw our walls. We may be small, but it will take more than just a few hordes of those black animals to overrun us. Besides, they haven't even peeked a snout out since two years ago," The bartender slipped a finger over his cleanly shaved chin and wondered aloud, "Although, I suppose there _are _some strange things going on in there. A fantastic story, with a current of truth lying underneath."

"Tell me."

"Hmm… For the past two years, we've been seeing a steady decline in the numbers of the Grimm. One day they are raiding the farmlands beyond the walls, and then the next day nothing at all. If you don't know, that never happens. The days turn into weeks, the weeks into months and years. Naturally, we've sent out many parties to scout out the strange situation – at that time, many people were afraid that it was the forewarning of a large scale assault, and some people even skipped town for fear of their lives – but in the end it turns out they really are just, gone. Well, it's not like they've vanished entirely, but for some strange reason they've moved deeper into the forest. It's the best news we've heard since the founding of this town.

Now then, miss, do you see anything wrong with this picture?"

He swept a clean hand through the air in dramatic fashion ready to deliver the punch line, but Ruby spoke before he even completed the gesture,

"The town hasn't expanded. With the Grimm gone there's no reason to clear out the land and push in deeper, but I haven't seen anything like that during my sc – tour. It means that there's something else other than the Grimm that's preventing you from doing so."

The bartender raised a surprised eyebrow with undisguised amazement, but Ruby merely smiled and gestured for him to continue, "You are correct! Officially, the authorities gave no explanation as to why we're letting those juicy lands just sit there and earning no profit for anybody. But our townspeople are bold opportune seekers, and it didn't take long for them to find out exactly why. We call it, the black fog.

It is a strange phenomenon that appears only at night, and is spotted consistently during the weekends. This elusive, smoke-like thing lurks deep inside the forest, and what's terrible about it is that it literally _corrodes_ every Grimm in its path. One moment it will seem that all is clear, and the next witnesses find themselves watching a cloud dark than black bearing down on an unsuspecting monster and devouring it thoroughly until only the bones are left. You can see why no one wants to risk their lives over a couple of uncultivated lands. Curiously enough it almost never attacks humans, and those who did injure themselves are always the first aggressor. Some are even _saved _by the fog when it swooped down out of nowhere to kill a hiding Grimm. Over time, most of us are just content to let it roam the southern forest free, because despite being extremely dangerous the black fog too _protected _us from the Grimm. There are even people who worshipped it as a spirit of the forest nowadays.

And that is the legend of the black fog. Do you like it, young miss?"

But as if all her interest had vanished, Ruby gave a huge yawn and pressed her cheek lazily against the counter. It was unfortunately not what she was looking for. Ignoring the bartender's look of amusement, she lazily gestured yet for another beer while muttering in boredom, "An elemental maybe, or a _protector_? It's possible… but I doubt they… nah, can't be. I suppose this place is curious, but… Never mind. Anyway, thank you for the story, bartender. I'll remember it. Now, is there anything else of interest you'll like to tell? How about say, the cities at the North?"

And so they talked without pause for the better part of an hour. When she was finally done, Ruby bid the old man a warm farewell and dragged an out cold Yang by the foot all the way to their hotel. She was way too sleepy to piggyback a body bigger than hers, and for someone who had thrashed such a kind old man's place in drunken rage Yang was snoring far too easily anyway. The moment they've reached their room, Ruby tossed the mumbling blonde towards the bed and swiftly climbed out of the window. In just a couple of seconds she had scaled up to the roof, and with her back against the chimney Ruby wrapped herself within her crimson cloak and relaxed. Comfort was a dangerous thing to familiarize with, and she just couldn't get used to any other bed than her home's after all. With one final gaze towards the empty sky, Ruby let out a contented sigh and sank deep into dreamland.

* * *

><p>The night was ripe. Not a moon or star could be seen as formations of thick clouds shrouded the sky in complete darkness. Even in an era of technological advancement where Dust lit every city aglow with beautiful light, tonight's was a darkness pure and deep enough to rival wet ink. Long long ago, such nights would have been a literal death sentence to any human guards unfortunate enough to be assigned watch duty beyond their fortification against the shadowy monsters we call the Grimm.<p>

For Blake though, the darkness was never an enemy. Not this kind at least. In three long strides, Blake Belladonna cut down a Beowolf from shoulder to waist before zipping past to stab another Ursa between the eyes. Even as the dark gray _katana _pierced through the blood red center of its skull, three equally monstrous bears showed up from different directions to entrap the young woman within a sure circle of death. Abruptly, the warrior split apart into three blurry shadows as they charged straight at her enemies, and with a swipe of their blades they easily claimed three grisly trophies without breaking even a sweat. Two of the shadow clones vanished into nothingness as the real Blake flicked her weapon aside with a sigh, but the young Huntress narrowed her eyes again as a new growl of menace rumbled beyond the thick foliage before her. A heavily scaled, boar-type Grimm called Boarbatusk was digging in its feet right behind the bush in preparation for a mighty charge, but again Blake cut it down swiftly before it even registered the clean swing of her rectangular sheath. Just another day on the job, and Blake reckoned she did quite well tonight.

Something was amiss, however. She had been hunting Grimm for almost as soon as she had arrived at Bamborsa – twice per week, at every weekend for certain reasons – but she had never faced more than ten of them at once before. It could be just a fluke, except that it was most unusual for a Boarbatusk – which usually resided near the mountains – to come this near to the town, and the fact that she had been fighting without stop for the past five hours or so. She had probably killed more Grimm today than the last three months, and the damn beasts were _still coming_. Just what on earth was going on in here?

A new chorus of roars rang from over eastside, and Blake leaped up a tree to look only to be chilled down to the very core of her heart. She saw _hundreds _of Grimm, burning red eyes glaring down with inhuman hate as she identified more Beowolves, more Ursas, more Boarbatusks, and – god's above, was that a pair of _King Taijitu? _What is this, a zoo outbreak? Her hands were slick with cold sweat, and she was all but ready to run until she recalled that her home was but a short mile behind her. Never mind the wide open gates; given the cover of the night and the town guards' sloppiness after so long without action, it did not take a genius to figure what would happen if she allowed this monster horde to pass. There was no time to warn anyone about the threat; she had to stop them _now _and all of them _here_, but the task was plainly impossible for just one person alone.

Impossible, except she knew of one way that would work, and that was to release _that thing _from the chains of her will and become _it_. This would be completely different from her usual release of excess corruption, and she would actually have to summon the inhuman monster into life. Already her heart was screaming that it was _too risky,_ that if she gave it _too much freedom _relocking it might just be impossible. Blake Belladonna bit her lips until they bled. Had her life was the only thing on the line, the notion would never have even touched her mind. _Elliot. May. _Clasping together shuddering hands, Blake fell to the ground on both knees and whispered a prayer. Then, she closed her eyes.

And screamed.


	4. Devil Wind - To Each Their Own

**Author Note: More expositions, more edits, more work. Intentional blindness did not work against the blinding light of my own foolishness. The mocha did work but I paid a huge price for it. Such is the life of writing. For those who reviewed the previous chapter, give me a bit of time to recharge my brains (or review this chapter too XD) so I can think of, well, anything to reply to you. Oh, I just remembered that I should put 'Thank you' into my replies.**

**Uh... I think I'll just go to sleep...**

* * *

><p><strong>Devil Wind - To Each Their Own<strong>

* * *

><p>"… <em>by! …by! … not waking… Hmm…"<em>

"_Deeeeeemon!"_

Ruby leap to her feet frantically, eyes darting from side to side as she held Crescent Rose in hand ready to cleave anything that remotely moved in half. Instead she saw Yang Xiao Long grinning like a Cheshire, and as soon as she clicked two to two together the young girl instantly opened fire to shoot her eternal nemesis off the roof. It was three storeys high and Yang barely made a miraculous landing, before she started rolling back and forth across the ground like a bowling pin,

"Ow ow ow ow _ow_! It's only a joke, girl! Why so feisty!?"

Ruby's only answer was to fire again between the gaps of her fingers and sent Yang writhing even harder in dirt _like the worm she truly was_. Obviously she drank a bit too much last night, and this was perhaps the second time she was in such a deep sleep that even Yang _stupid _Long managed to sneak up on her. That fact alone was so _humiliating _that Ruby briefly entertained the idea of keeping this up until Yang literally rolled herself six feet under. But in the end, she simply heaved a huge sigh and sank back onto the tiles. It was ten in the morning, and after bathing under the sun for so long she was naturally sweaty, irritated, and aching all over the place. At least she did not have that pounding headache called 'hangover' Master Merah always boasted about, but she definitely could use some time in the shower. Glancing down at the still rolling Yang, Ruby let out another long sigh before calling out to the blonde while slipping down into their room,

"We're leaving in twenty minutes. Unless you want to hit the road in soot you have thirty seconds to get into the shower. Starting now. And you just _try _coming through the window."

"Thirty _seconds?_ But that's impossible! Oh no, no no no _please _–"

_CRACK. _Ruby hummed out a forgotten tune as she slotted the window and door's locks into place, then skidded into the bathroom and locked that as well. Ignoring the muffled screams and subsequent thumps of panic shaking the entire hotel like an earthquake, Ruby turned on the shower and exhaled happily as cool water slipped down her torso from head to toe. With luxuries like these, she supposed it wasn't too bad after all, spending a day or two in established society.

* * *

><p>The duo walked towards the Southern Gate, Ruby looking a lot more spirited and refreshed after the bath, and Yang carrying all their bags with bent knees and puffy eyes looking as if her soul was about to leave her body any second. She did miraculously make it to the bathroom in time, but during the process she had crashed through the lobby's sliding door, broke more than a few expensive pots, punched the teeth out of several black suited guards and tore precisely two knobs out of their hinges. To put it shortly, Yang lost nearly all of her life savings to recompense for the hotel's losses, and her next allowance was literally a full month away. It made the poor girl wished that she wasn't an honest crook.<p>

Yang sniffed pitifully as she complained in a tiny, helpless voice, "You're_ evil_, big sis, _evil!_ How could you do this to me?"

"Blame yourself for choosing the worst possible way _ever _to wake me up. Try that again, and I'll let you experience the _true_ meaning of hell," Ruby whistled uncharacteristically as she reveled happily in Yang's misery. By Remnant, she could get _used_ to this, "Now quit talking and move; we've already wasted enough time here."

"Ceh," the depressed brawler harrumphed in defiance, but dared not say another word more for fear of incurring Ruby's wrath. Their standpoints were never equal to begin with, but recently it seemed that she had fallen to the point where she was treated just slightly better than a slave or animal. But surely, surely that was just her imagination playing cruel tricks with herself, right? As Yang tried desperately to distract herself away from the sad, sad truth, she looked towards a horizon and sighed instinctively at the sight,

"Hard to believe that this is just a small town. Not even Jiu Xu had walls like that. And would you just look at that awesome _gate_, gimme a sec – say _cheeeese!_"

Ruby shot her photo-snapping partner a look, but for once she could agree with Yang wholeheartedly, "The Southern Gate is bigger simply because they have a Grimm-infested forest there. But yes… it is incredible."

Yesterday they were in a hurry to learn the town in the fastest way possible, but now that they were leaving, they actually had time to fully appreciate the grand view. The Southern Gate was a massive stone structure that spanned higher than every single building in Bamborsa, reaching an impressive range of fifty meters tall with multiple levels of walls supporting on each sides. There were many small inner entrances that led up towards the ramp, and its design clearly had the Grimm's bulky size in mind and sought to prevent the monsters from using the same paths. A keener eye would also notice the rows of Dust cannons mounted behind the cover of solid stone, no doubt maintained in good condition so they could gun down any Grimm that might stray into the clearing. All in all, they made this entrance one hell of a blockade that could stop even a few Nevermores if fully manned.

Even the only highway leading through the forest towards other settlements had spiked stone walls erected on each side of the path, although their purpose were mostly cosmetic – even a one-legged Beowolf could leap over the short walls with ease – and to instill a sense of safety for common travelers. The real defense was the many pockets of mobile forces deployed at key points along the fifty five kilometer path that would move out and act whenever a Grimm was spotted. Bamborsa might neither be as far out as other border settlements nor as hazardous, but because it was located at the end of the only choke point between two otherwise impassable mountain ranges spanning at least fifty kilometers each, it was thus marked as a second level red zone; a hot spot of the Vytal Kingdom. If the three frontier bases further out somehow fell prey to the Grimm, then it would be up to this little town to act as the final barricade of Vytal's outermost defense line. Thus the people here took border defense with unusual seriousness, even if two years of peace did lull the officials into chipping away at manpower and the defense budget.

As the relaxing duo trod closer to the structure though, they soon noticed that something was amiss. A massive crowd of men and vehicles were stalled right in front of the great gate, and as they moved into an opening they suddenly realized that that the steel portcullis that had supposedly stayed up for two long years was now _down_. Ruby motioned Yang to wait as she climbed up the tallest flat she could find, and as she looked down from above it seemed that most, if not _all _of the southern exits were sealed completely. That was how Ruby chose to interpret the countless pockets of people crowding at the entire length of the southern walls.

As Ruby made her way back to Yang, she gave the nod and the blonde split away to head straight for one of the smaller exits. Ruby on the other hand was set on a direct course towards the Southern Gate, and as she got closer so did the mass of noise and bodies blocking her path. The young girl gritted her teeth as her cape got snagged again and again until she tied it firmly to the waist. All these noise and sweat reminded her too well of the childish days when she was both a beggar and a thief. _I'm no longer that me, _the girl reminded herself as she pointedly looked only towards the front. The entire journey was an unexpectedly arduous task, but finally she squeezed her way to the front and the first thing she saw was five town guards blocking the way with unusually stern – _was that fear?_ – looks on their faces.

"Let us through already! I have an urgent shipment to get to Maine in an hour!"

"That's _ten extra hours of driving _if we have to go all the way back to the Liphen Highway! _Ten!_"

But all the complaints and cries fell onto deaf ears, as the guards neither reacted nor care about the commotion happening around them. It was as if they're statues. Just as Ruby pondered of a way to gather more substantial information about the situation, a short man in grey suit and silver spectacles suddenly exited from a door behind the guards' lines with a loudspeaker in hand. The crowd seemed to quell the moment they spotted him, and sure enough he raised the device up and began to speak,

"Good morning everyone. We regretfully announce that all Southern exits and under complete lockdown until further notice. This is for your own safety. Please, do continue your travels through the other gates instead, and once again, we are really sorry for all the inconveniences caused. Thank you for your understanding."

And that was it. Despite incessant demands for an explanation from every side of the crowd, the speaker did not say anything else and retreated back behind the door. Even as the crowd continued to yell Ruby sensed that she would get no further, and not wanting to stay any longer she immediately squeezed her way back to the open area again. When she was finally through Ruby sucked in a mouthful of fresh air and found Yang was already waiting at their agreed meeting spot, the blonde losing all her cheerfulness for an unusually stern frown on her face.

"Have you gotten anything?" Ruby asked.

"Only a little. I saw a bunch of lumberjacks and turns out they know something strange," Yang gestured mindlessly towards the distance before pulling Ruby to a quieter corner of the street. Normally the young girl would protest, but Yang's habits for secrecy suited her own well, "Let me hear about yours first. I hear a megaphone booming."

"Nothing we didn't already know; all the southern exits are closed until an unknown time," Ruby said with a hint of impatience.

Yang nodded and poured out her thoughts with folded hands, "I see. Mine is a bit more fruitful. Obviously all of the entrances are blocked now, but one of them happened into the forest early morning and stumbled into something fantastic. He found a sea of Grimm carcasses littering _everywhere _in the forest, and of course he ran a straight line back to Bamborsa to report the find."

Ruby squinted dangerously at the unexpected news, "What? That doesn't make sense. I can't see how any Grimm can make it past the frontier bases. Are you telling me they're all _gone?_"

"No idea, but I doubt it. The whole town would be in lockdown or evacuating already if that was the case. It doesn't matter anyway. We just need to know there's a shit load of Grimm out there somewhere, and if the guy isn't exaggerating then it's little wonder they're sealing off all the entrances; I just hope they aren't as undermanned as they look."

Ruby was about to speak her thoughts when Yang interrupted suddenly, "Oh! I forgot, but there's also this strange talk about a black… fog shrouding the entire inner section of the forest. The guy was half blabbering at that point so I'm not sure, but I really am not kidding, Ruby."

The Huntress' eyes widened in surprise. She definitely did not see this coming, "Huh. Don't worry, I believe you. I've heard a little about it last night, from the bartender."

Yang looked taken aback, "Woah. For real? And here I thought it's just a joke. This is getting crazier and crazier… So, what are we going to do? Shall…" the blonde lowered her voice to a whisper, "Shall we just leave? We came here in the first place because you wanted to confuse potential chasers, but now that it's like this we can probably just head north as originally planned. Or… do you want to check this out? It's just a thought, but this… this can be a _Demon_, right?"

At the mention of the forbidden word Ruby scowled deeply, but did not answer. She didn't like the implication, but it was possible. At first, the young Executioner had thought it to be some wannabe hero killing Grimm with a fog-like Semblance and dismissed the matter from her mind entirely, but now she wasn't so sure. She had never heard of a Semblance so powerful that it could envelop an entire part of the forest even if accounting for the possibility of exaggeration. Not even Yang, with her mysterious well of seemingly endless energy could do that. Hence, it was perfectly logical to assume that a Demon was behind this fog, except for just one tiny problem: Ruby had not sensed any demonic power whatsoever for the entire length of their stay. She could not possibly fail to detect such power if the lumberjack was telling the truth; the two facts simply ran in opposite directions from each other.

And then there was this mysterious mass of Grimm – or _dead _Grimm, to be precise – that came out of nowhere. Make no mistake, Ruby Rose cared nothing for the livelihoods of these people, and if the Grimm did come then the first thing she would do was to move at the opposite direction and stay well away from the battle. People's lives, the kingdom, the fate of humanity – they could all rot in hell for all she cared. No, the problem here was that she disliked adjusting her plans to fit unpredictable circumstances, and she hated it even more if said circumstances were actually deliberate and only disguised to look the way it was.

She was thinking about the Executioners. It made sense, really. The people here were sure that the Grimm had been in decline over the past two years, and she didn't think they would be stupid enough to miss that. But then a full horde of Grimm suddenly popped into existence to threaten the entire town, and then they just happened to be all dead? The whole thing was outright _ridiculous_, and worse, it _stank _horribly of a bait. The Order was not above sacrificing thousands of lives if it meant taking down their hated nemesis, and deserters happened to be second right after that priority. Could this be a trap? She had not seen any of them since the day she escaped, but Executioners were also known for their everlasting patience. Would they go so far as to disguise themselves as a Demon just to lure out the first and last apprentice of Summer Rose? If that was true, then how on earth was she going to protect Yang?

Ruby shook her head, and grasped the hilt of her scythe tightly. In the end, this was her own choice, her own path she would choose to tread. Ruby knew that the blonde would not influence her decisions unless it was directly related to her own goals, which for the moment did not seem to be the case. _Remember your purpose, Ruby Rose. First, the Lost Altar. That objective have no place here at the moment. The next would be Demons, and that, is my answer._

Finally coming to a decision, Ruby let out a long sigh and pulled her red hood over her head. Then, she said, "Alright, we'll check it out. If this is really a Demon, I do not want to miss it. Let us split up and meet later at the second toll along the highway in thirty minutes. I'll tell you what I know about the black fog when we meet there. Oh, and please don't drink before work; I don't need a drunk party crasher who accidentally burns down an entire inn."

"Okay then!" Yang nodded enthusiastically before the last sentence turned her face into tomato, "Wait what, what, _what?_ How the hell do you know that? What does it have anything to do with this? _Did you have Da's number?_ And I've already apologized to the owner eons ago, dammit!"

"Oh, you mean you don't remember last night? Your epic boasts on stage was so _astounding_ that I feel like banning you from alcohol forever," Ruby said while pretending that she did not take pleasure at seeing Yang choke, "but luckily for you, the consequences are too much trouble. So this is a _friendly_ reminder: First, no drinking during work. Second, the next time you go drinking, _don't invite me_. But sometimes I may feel in the mood for a glass or two, so when that happens you steer clear of the inns _I'm_ in, and if it is the only inn in town then… you get the hint, don't you?"

"Wh – that's totally unfair! How about if we set visits at different times –"

"Okay, enough talking. See you later!"

In a flourish of petals, the petite girl flashed straight up into roof and ran without bothering to listen until the end. That little tease definitely helped clear her mood nicely, and while she felt a little sorry for using Yang like that, wasn't this exactly what friends were for? To use, to manipulate, and to squeeze every drop of cheer out of their heart until her own became all light and comfortable. Wait a second; that sounded a little different from what Yang taught her a week ago…

Nah.

* * *

><p>Immediately Yang ran out to the open streets, and she just barely made it in time to see her friend leaping over the roofs like lightning before zooming up the wall. In just a few graceful jumps, Ruby Rose cleared the fifty meters height with ease, and before she knew it the girl had already disappeared behind the stones. As far as she could see, no one seemed to have noticed a thing, and it was impossible to tell if the ramp guards saw Ruby zipping past them like a ghost. Likely not. Yang could only scratch her hair and sigh – The Semblance of extreme speed? More like the Semblance of extreme <em>cheat<em>. Could that girl never do things more, how to put it, _normally?_

Still, it wasn't the time for this kind of thoughts. As Ruby said it was time to work. The brawler let loose a deep breath and began sauntering towards her choice exit. Obviously she could not emulate Ruby's moves and get out the same way she did – which was why the young girl gave her thirty minutes in the first place – but it was as the saying goes, 'to each their own'. This hurdle was nothing; Ruby was seriously looking down on her too much. She might be a combat genius, but Yang also had advantages that the younger girl would never be able to employ in her life. As Yang Xiao Long began psyching herself up for the 'show', fluttering golden locks and swaying hips and bouncing breasts drawing huge gulps of saliva from men all over the place, she smiled a Cheshire grin knowing she had those shaken security guards exactly where she wanted them to be. With assets like these and the timeless experience of being the most attractive woman in Jiu Xu – _oh yes, that's me _– this was almost too easy.

So easy in fact, she wondered if she could convince these people to leave their posts and escort her all the way to their meeting spot like some bona fide queen. Recently it felt like Ruby was getting a little too full of herself – she _is _getting too full herself, dammit! – so this felt like the _perfect_ opportunity to strike back. Oh, she couldn't _wait _to see the look on Ruby's face…

* * *

><p>How long had she fought? How much longer did she have to fight? After <em>its <em>release her very first act had been to suppress its power with every ounce of willpower, but as the attacking waves grew larger she suddenly realized that it wasn't at all necessary. For once, even the _thing_ had to go all out just to stem the seemingly endless march of the Grimm, and while she was relatively successful for the first five hours, dawn soon arrived. The heart of its strength was darkness incarnate, and the presence of sunlight weakened it enough that she had to surrender more and more control just to keep it at its peak a little longer. But that choice too was utter madness, for if she relinquished _too much_ – already did more so than ever in her entire life – then she would lose her very soul to the monster_._ To be entirely honest she was just _terrified_. She wanted to stop, she wanted to just give up the impossible and run.

But she could not. Not when Elliot was in danger, not when May was in danger, not when _everyone _was facing imminent death unless she stop this sea of Grimm that could swallow three times of Bamborsa and more. Luxurious questions such as _where are they coming from_ and _why are they here_ could wait until the immediate crisis was over. Once upon a time she had succumbed to her own weakness, and in retribution lost everything she held dear. _Never again._ And so Blake Belladonna swooped and crushed and killed consuming_ every Grimm _in her path, showing absolutely no mercy to the pathetic weaklings who dared to even stray into her sights. _Come, _the Huntress screamed as she swallowed whole yet another group of Beowolves, and with each _meal_ inching ever so slowly towards the abyss of no return,

_I'll devour you all!_


	5. Devil Wind - Crossed The Line

**Devil Wind - Crossed The Line**

* * *

><p>It was afternoon. The sun hung high, and a trio of thick clouds sailed close to temper its unforgiving heat. For the people out in the open the temperature might still be too much to bear, but a particular pair of bright colors barely felt it at all as they darted unnaturally quick underneath a grove of trees. Of course, they were none other than Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, who had undertaken the personal mission of investigating the strange incident at the south side forest that had one quarter of Bamborsa griped in panic and anticipation.<p>

Twenty minutes ago, Ruby and Yang had slipped through the heavily guarded Southern gates respectively to regroup at one of the deserted tolls of the forest's highway, as previously agreed before. It had been easy. The road was sealed off, and all the people had already been evacuated into the town for safety purposes. Even the countryside was eerily quiet with only the occasional patrols roaming the streets, but that was exactly what they were hoping for. Not a soul ever knew that they were there – or it would have been, had Yang not brought along a dozen of armed men cheering behind her to greet casually an utterly speechless Ruby Rose. Needless to say the young girl's wrath had been mighty indeed, and Yang was lucky she got away with just a thirty minutes lecture and a boot to the arse. But it was _worth. It!_

Yang's escorts weren't completely just there to rile Ruby up, however. They had provided with the right directions needed to make it towards ground zero, and the duo wasted no time in slipping past the fences and making a beeline towards their destination. As usual, Ruby led at the front with Yang following closely from behind, and the duo ran through the forest with such speed it was as if gravity held no attraction to either of them. Yang was breathing just a little harder though; Ruby explained that this was a rare rainforest far away from the Equator where it was usually found, and that she should be prepared for its rather moist and dense atmosphere. True to her words, just ten minutes into their run Yang found herself completely drenched from head to toe in sweat, and she had to regulate her breathing consciously to keep from gasping like a fish.

The unpleasant run did not last nearly as long as they expected, however. Another five minute into their trek, just as Ruby flipped deftly down a short cliff, she spotted something strange directly in front of them and signaled Yang to slow down into a walk. For some reason the sceneries before them were getting strangely misty, and instead of the expected smoky white this particular haze was of a strange, swirling black. Ruby and Yang looked to each other, and nodded. As they shoved past leaves and branches and progressed deeper into the forest, the duo soon found exactly what they were looking for and came to a complete stop. Yang looked up at the unbelievably sight with mouth agape, awed,

"Woah. They call this a _fog?_"

"I thought your guys said that it was further in," Ruby said with a hint of alarm while doing mental calculations inside her mind. They couldn't have travelled more than five kilometers.

"It should be. But this thing's also air, right? So I guess it just, well, spread or moved around."

This thing before them was without a doubt the black fog, except that it was different from anything they had expected. When the bartender had described it, he made it sound like a cloud-shaped, cute little puppy roaming the forest for the saintly duty of protecting humanity from the ultimate evil. The escorts nailed the impression closer, as they talked about a thick shroud of darkness enveloping the forest grounds within its hazy embrace, and to walk inside it would be akin to taking a night trip with sunglasses. Ruby thought them crazy to even go near a haze known to corrode Grimm into nothingness, but at least they seemed to confirm that the black fog wasn't deadly to human beings.

But this _thing _they saw with their own eyes made her reconsider the whole idea altogether. It was technically a shroud of darkness alright, but instead of the normal-haze-except-colored-black she had expected this was a massive, horizontal column of ink black smoke stretching to both sides as far as she could see, and with density so thick that it might as well be liquid. Strangely though, it did not seem to reach above the trees, but at the moment Ruby paid the fact no heed. It reminded her of a televised science documentary she saw about live volcanos, or more specifically the volcanic ashes spewing during an eruption and engulfing everything in its path. Add to the unnatural _writhing _and _contortions _of fog looking like it would rush them down at any second, even Ruby was hesitating whether they should really stick to their original plan and venture _inside_ that terrible thing.

But just as she turned towards Yang to consult on her opinion, all those doubts seemed to have lifted away on their own. Her partner appeared to lack the ability to fear the unknown, because at the moment she was staring with childlike wonder twinkling in her eyes and thumbing away rapidly a collection of photos into her scroll. What was this, a school trip? Ruby showered Yang with half a frown and smile, but at the same time she could not help but sneer derisively at herself – since when had she lost the ability to be amazed by the wonders of her adventure? And what else did she lose ever since she was set on the path of bloody revenge? Not wanting to dwell on such gloomy thoughts any further, Ruby caught Yang's wrist just as she tried approaching closer to the fog before chiding,

"Careful. This fog can gobble a Grimm up like it's nothing, remember? And keep your Semblance up. It might have a mind of its own."

"Uh, sure!" Yang was slightly surprised by the unusually kind smile on Ruby's face, but she obeyed quickly and soon a ripple of golden flames was spread throughout her body, "A mind, you say? Are you speaking from experience?"

"Only once, and it was a close call too. The house is not a house," the young girl said enigmatically, "Let's move back a little. I need to get something ready."

"Okay!"

Yang nodded in understanding and asked no more. The duo fell into mutual silence as Yang began walking up and down the stretch seemingly in search of something, whereas Ruby sat behind a tree and rifled out a transparent jar from her bag. Inside it contained an emerald blue, lotion-like substance, which she grabbed a handful and immediately began to rub them over her body. Yang nearly choked when she walked back to find a glistening Ruby Rose continuously touching herself like… well… let's just say she barely managed to contain herself as she reported her findings,

"Something's weird. The lumberjack said that the floor was littered with Grimm carcasses, but I can't find even a twig of bone anywhere."

"You said it yourself, Yang, the fog moves. It's probably shifted out and covered the area. Anyway, keep watch for another minute, will you? I'll tell you when I'm done," Ruby replied without looking up once from her task, and after a moment of hesitation lifted and poured everything inside jar the over her head. This time Yang could not help but exclaim aloud in surprise,

"Ruby, just what _is _it that you're doing?"

"This? Catch," Ruby threw the empty jar over to Yang, and the latter wiped a finger inside it and felt her eyes popped wide as a saucer. Gel. _Hair gel. _Had Ruby suddenly awoke to some bizarre fashion statement, or was she actually still in dreamland or something?

"Uh, sis, I don't think that's how you use a hair gel. To begin with you don't even need _that _much…"

But the redhead only stared at her with puzzlement, "What are you talking about? This is for my own protection. Demons come in all forms, and some of them are impossible to harm or defend against by normal means. But Dust will always work against them no matter what, so as long as I cover myself up with this the fog should not be able to harm me. I'm surprised they sell this so cheaply in the general store, but I'll take what I can get."

"… Oh. Right. Of course. What was I thinking?" Yang looked pointedly at the ground on her left, not trusting her own reaction should her eyes met with Ruby's. Someday, she really needed to teach the girl some societal common sense, "Wait. Wait a sec, are you still planning to walk inside _that?_"

"That is the plan," Ruby said simply, "Going back now will not accomplish anything. I want to see for myself exactly what is causing this strange phenomenon, and if we find a Demon then we're going to kill it."

"B-but you just said that thing eats Grimm! It's like _acid! _I'm fine because of my Semblance, but you can't possibly cover everything with the gel! What about your eyes, your ears, your mouth?" Yang raised the points up in panic, but Ruby just rolled her eyes and wiped the last of the gel up her inner thighs and – Yang looked away frantically and slapped a palm to her face. Oh _god_, _Ruby!_ That's it, she's _definitely_ educating her thoroughly as soon as they're done with this mission. No wait, that sounded _so wrong!_

"Have you forgotten about our Aura? It will not be able to harm me anyway. This is just insurance."

Yang snapped out of her embarrassment and refuted, "But what about the air? How are you going to breathe inside?"

"Yang," Ruby cut the woman off with a forceful wave of her hand and stood up from the ground, "Remember what your friend told us? They tried walking inside the fog, and it turned out fine even though they're just normal people. Trust me, I've thought all about it."

Yang folded her arms stubbornly and refused to budge, "You and I both know that the scale's totally different. What if this one has a real bite? It's too _risky, _sis, I'm _worried _that –"

Ruby grabbed reassuringly at Yang's arm, and gave an awkward smile, "That's why I have you, isn't it? In the case that the unthinkable happens, I trust you completely to save me from danger. There's no one I want more at this moment to be by my side."

"Uh," Much to Ruby's puzzlement though – her heart twinging with a strange kind of _hurt_ she didn't understand – Yang abruptly pulled away before taking a fearful step backwards, and then another. The young girl was oblivious to the fact that she never_ ever_ praised the blonde for pretty much anything, much less _appreciate _her, and even if she did it was _always_ in some form of bloody, vengeful retribution, "I'm sorry I don't know what I did wrong but please forgive me please?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ruby said in irritation, somehow feeling angry for no particular reason as she whipped out Crescent Rose – Yang's knees very nearly giving out there and then – before turning to face the mist, "Have you forgotten your own Semblance? It is a cleansing fire that will destroy anything impure, so in case I fall ill you can always use your Semblance to detox me. Even if we suppose that this fog is all burning ash and smoke – which I doubt it, because we will be feeling intense heat this close up – we're still at the outer edge and can pull back into opening at any time. Not to mention that your Semblance can always push away the fog away as we escape; it's perfect for this. So… anymore _questions?_"

"Oh… Oh! Right, of course! Nothing else, ma'am!" Yang ran up to the girl and nodded rapidly before the dangerous lines on Ruby's forehead could translate into something realistically unpleasant. Still, did that mean… "Hey, Ruby."

"What?"

"Can you repeat it again? You know, the part where you said you trust –"

"No."

"Aw…"

And that was the end of the casual conversation. As the duo walked until they were directly facing the fog, Ruby carefully raised a palm ready to touch the rippling black. Wordlessly Yang placed a hand onto Ruby's shoulders, clearly intending to pull the young girl back the second something appeared amiss, and despite the look of exasperation etched upon Ruby's face she did not resist or pull away. The former Executioner resolutely pressed a hand into the black corruption – her breath held in for a second, before coming out in a controlled rush when she felt nothing strange – and let herself sank completely into the darkness. Yang never hesitated as she followed right in with the utmost confidence and trust in her partner, golden fire illuminating her outline even after she passed into the murky veil.

But before long, even that light vanished as they trod deeper into the mist, and the duo soon vanished as if they were never there.

* * *

><p>Blake Belladonna knew discipline, or at least she thought she knew discipline, considering that she had been practicing it for the better part of her life. Still she could not hold in the immense, unrestrained, and almost pathetic weep of relief when the Grimm hordes had finally stopped their advance and pulled back to whatever hellhole they emerged from. She must have killed at least a <em>thousand <em>of those monsters, and against all odds she had actually _won. _At any other time she would have wondered about the mystery behind the Grimm's extraordinary behavior, and if she was braver she would even sneak after the fleeting monsters and discover exactly where and how these Grimm had come to be. But for now, within this absolute darkness and solitude, Blake was simply content to weep her heart out until the turmoil of emotions ran its complete course.

"…?"

But her cries didn't drag too long before she felt that something was amiss. How long had they been there? Suddenly she felt a pair of drastically dissimilar powers radiating deep within her territory, and for a few seconds she felt her mind skidded into a complete halt. The extended battle had really done a good number to her brain. Were they Grimm? No, no; she could feel the distinct wavelength of their souls singing bright and clear inside her heart. They had to be humans. Hunters. _Huntresses_, as Blake concentrated harder and saw the faint outlines of a pair of women inside her mind. It was time to go. And so the young girl called out to the fog to return unto herself, and waited.

But nothing happened, and the black world stayed just as still as it was before. It was only when she tried again and nothing changed, that she realized in horror that she _couldn't even feel her own body anymore._ _No. No! _Blake refused to accept reality as she pulled at the strings, struggling to will everything that was _her _to come together and exist again as a whole. Still it could not change the fact that she had crossed the forbidden line, that she was severed from her humanity save perhaps the final thread that's keeping her mind alive. Facts and dreams, one and _zero. _No matter how hard Blake Belladonna screamed and kicked and clawed her way through the invisible dark, doing absolutely everything she could to demand control back unto herself, to absorb the fog of death that would soon realize that it was free of its prison, free to roam without its host, free to _prey _on those she was supposed to protect.

She was still spent. She was still blind. She was _nothing at all_.

And then the thing, _knows._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I really don't want to end three times in a row with Blake's segment, but it was either this or have 7k+ words dumped onto the readers like an avalanche. It will be like reading a shorter version of 'Valence' - not as good as their writing, but <em>seriously <em>tedious to read through. So I split things up a bit; the next one's gonna be long.**

**Oh, and I forgot to mention in the story, but of course the bullets Ruby fired at Yang's forehead the previous chapter are not the lethal kind - she just switches magazine really, really fast (plus with how Aura works, it is actually entirely possible to eat a point blank grenade and still make it out scratch-less - Weiss and Ruby proved that in V1E2 already). Yang is definitely not indestructible.**


	6. Devil Wind - Bleed

**Author's Note: Well obviously it took a long time, and obviously I cannot stand some parts of my writing that I worked to the second last hour to fix them. I would say that it's all for you readers, but it's partially because I'm too embarrassed to post something I can't stand myself. That being said, I really hope this chapter turns out well for you guys, and don't say I never warn you - this one is loooooooong.**

* * *

><p>"Stupid leaves – <em>ugh! – <em>Stupid branches _woah _– stupid_ roots! _Stupid, stupid, stupid _gooeghh – _Nnaaarrg_gggghhh _I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

"Yang, quiet. And stop using your fire like that, it's wasting energy."

"And knock myself out first in the dark? No bloody thanks, _please!_"

"Well, you're the one who wanted to lead, so stop complaining and – duck! Ah. Too late."

"_GRRRRRRAAAAAOOOOOOHHHHH!"_

The duo was now slowly making their way through the fog shrouded grounds, treating every step with caution and making sure that they were never more than two feet apart from each other. The obvious reason was obvious – visibility inside the fog was practically non-existent, and if it wasn't for the golden flames illuminating Yang's outline and the soft blue glow from Ruby's gel ("What a _cute_ Christmas tree you'd make!" Yang laughed before being kneed in the stomach) repelling a bit of the darkness, they would not be able to even see their own hands in front of their eyes. It was the literal definition of a blind's man maze, and unfortunately that still was not the worst of it. Imagine having a piece of cloth drenched in ink slapped permanently onto your face, and then imagine it clung not just to your face but also your entire body. At least they could breathe, but it felt more like a cruel joke than something to be grateful of. Funnily In conclusion; no, it was not the same as being underwater; it was worse. Yes, it was the highest 'standard' of water-boarding they've ever experienced. And yes, this would be the first and last time either of them was _ever_ stepping into a foggy hell again. Or at least, not willingly.

As Ruby herself got snagged by a particularly stiff bush, she too figured that they could not continue like this. The reason she allowed Yang to lead – although she was still giving instructions on which path to take – was that the blonde provided better illumination and could see further. Ruby also had a smaller build, which meant that any path the young girl could take didn't necessarily mean that it would fit Yang as well, and being ninety nine percent blind a simple misstep at an unfamiliar terrain could easily be fatal. She really didn't want Yang to spend her Semblance, for they were completely reliant on it in case the undesirable happened, but at this point it had turned into a necessity. Just in case she tried her flashlight again, but as expected the light barely reached a pathetic fifty centimeters before they were distorted completely by the thick smog. The young girl stuffed the tool disappointingly into her bag and called out,

"Okay, Yang, stop."

"Huh? What is it?"

"We're going to clear ourselves some space. First, try focusing your flames into a narrow point on a finger. Any one is fine, whatever you feel best. Good? Okay, now point to the ground in front of you and try imagining that you're, um, blowing fire. Not too much, just a short burst will do – that's too much! Slowly…"

It took quite a few tries to get it done properly, for control was not one of the blonde's best attributes. But eventually Yang nailed the trick: as she shot a small stream of fire at the ground before her, it fanned out at the end to form something akin to a small fireball. Naturally, the heated gas pushed away at the black fog to reveal a small patch of space before them, and while it was not wide enough to cover more than a few steps before she had to repeat the process, it was more than enough to avoid falling on their own feet. Even the air around seemed to flow better. The huge grin on Yang's face was infectious, and even Ruby couldn't resist a smile of her own.

But as if releasing all the pent up stress she had accumulated so far, Yang suddenly shot out huge bursts of fire from each hands – ignoring Ruby's surprised yells – and laughed maniacally with springy jumps, "_Hahahahahaha! _How's _that_, you stupid fog! Think you can screw with the blood of the dragon, don't you!? Well _screw. Your. Self!_"

"Stop that now, you _idiot! _Watch your –"

"Huh? Oh – shit – _Aagggh!_"

"Yang!"

Ruby tried grabbing the blonde's arm, but missed the wild flailing as Yang fell sideways down a steep slope neither of them noticed they were standing on until it was too late. It was a foolish mistake; even Ruby was so engrossed in their tiny experiment that she had forgotten to check their footing. Had this forest not situated on flat lands the consequences would have been unthinkable. The young girl cursed aloud before she began climbing the slope quickly to catch Yang, but kept a cautious hand raised and another grasp tightly onto the grass to avoid meeting the same fate. Thankfully the tumbling noise lasted no longer than a few seconds, but it was cut short by a loud _thud _at the end – _not good, not good at all! _– and with a pounding heart, Ruby shouted,

"Yang!? Are you okay? Answer me!"

There was silence for a moment, and the rapid thumps lasted just as long. But thankfully Yang finally answered not without the expected long groan,

"_Uuuuugh_, I'm here! Just scratches! Almost hit my head, but I stopped in – what the…?"

What happened next nearly caused Ruby to lose her grip, because it was the shrillest and most piercing scream she had ever heard in her life. It literally took a few seconds for her to process that it was Yang's, and then a few seconds more to actually believe that she wasn't hallucinating. Throwing all caution to the wind Ruby skipped down the slope and ran, relying solely on instincts and the faint glow of her outstretched hand to avoid running face first into a tree. It was moments like this she _hated _that she wasn't an Omni Sensor, that her sensing of a person's Aura was far inferior to a Demon's pulse. Dots of red and white began to crowd her vision, and the unmistakable tang of iron filling the insides of her mouth. _Not now_, Ruby thought to herself as she brought a hand up to her mouth and bit down hard, killing forcibly the surfacing nightmares. She'd be damned if she lost her partner over some stupid illusion.

"Yang? Yang! Where are you? Keep talking to me, dammit!"

Abruptly Ruby saw a spread of golden light directly before her, and the worry inside her heart instantly dropped by a half as she skidded into a fast walk. There she was: Yang was standing with her back facing towards her, utterly silent, and although she could not see clearly the blonde seemed to be gesturing her hands and directing her flames somehow. As Ruby ran up to Yang's side she could not help but scolded aloud,

"Why the hell didn't you answer me? And what was that, I thought something had –"

Then, she saw it as well. The sight instantly cooled down her head as she pulled out her rifle – just in case – and stood guard by Yang's side. The unusually solemn brawler nodded in appreciation as she summoned a huge fireball in each one of her fists before holding them in front of her. Then, just as Ruby had taught her she let them out in a jet stream of flames, but this time they reached out much further and longer than before. As Yang spread her arms out slowly, literally splitting the ominous fog from the center and pushing them apart, she too revealed the wide, flat plain directly ahead of them that was secreted away before. The duo held their breath. Normally, one would expect to see only patches of grasses and the occasional wood in an open plain like this. Normally, one would _not _expect to find an entire ground of monstrous-shaped skeletons; each and every one stained the unmistakable red that differentiated between the living, and the Grimm.

They had found their graveyard. They almost wished they didn't.

* * *

><p>"So let me make this clear one more time. You slipped on the wrong foot, you rolled down a hill. You came to a lucky stop without hitting anything, but when you tried standing up you found yourself staring at a pair of King Taijitu's fangs from <em>inside <em>its mouth. Then you screamed liked a g –"

"_Nooooooo! _I'm sorry, everything's my fault I shouldn't have gotten excited and I'm a total idiot so _please _don't say anything more I don't want to hear it _please!_ And _please _don't tell anyone about this _I'm begging you!_"

The young girl nodded in satisfaction and bit down a biscuit. The two partners were now bunking down under a sturdy young tree resting up and eating lunch, although at the moment a half hysterical Yang to her side was more concerned about doing her very best kneels and prayers to stop a relentless Ruby from retelling the embarrassing episode for the twentieth time in a row. It did not help that the reason she did not respond to Ruby's calls after the involuntary scream simply because she was terrified of accidentally 'waking' up the skeletal horde of Grimm, as if the dead could ever come back to life. _Pssh._

"You know, I think you're not even aware of the Grimm horde until afterwards. I think you kept quiet because you think the snake would –"

"Lalalalala what are you saying I _totally _can't _heeeeaaar _you!"

Even Ruby could not suppress a giggle as Yang fished out a pair of bullets and plugged her ears, crossed her arms and legs and pretended that she was looking at the distant horizon, which naturally did not exist because there was only fog and more fog anywhere. It's not that she was sadistic – okay, maybe _just _a tiny bit – but sometimes Yang just made it _irresistible _to poke fun at her. Still, it was about time they got serious, and with a hand gesture Ruby motioned for Yang to take off the plugs. Yang shook her head with a wide, silly smile. The young girl's eyes narrowed her eyes into dangerous slits, and finally the blonde obeyed – her reluctance so funny that Ruby had to stop herself mightily from falling into the trap – after noting the gravity of her expression.

"So. What did you find?" started Ruby.

"Well, I saw Beowolves, Ursi, Boarbatusks, King Taijjitus, Rapier Wasps… too many to count really. Some I don't even recognize; it's like a zoo straight from hell."

"It's about the same on my side. Luckily I don't see any king-sized Grimm – no Deathstalkers, no Nevermores, although it made sense that they could not possibly have made it here without alerting anyone. This can only mean that they came by land, something like a tunnel most likely."

"But that can't be!" Yang exclaimed, "You know how wide this mountain range is, right? Its length is at least _twice and a half _as long; around 130 kilometers or so. I can't imagine that the Grimm could dig so far without any of the bases noticing, if they're even smart enough to think of something like this in the first place. And wouldn't Shiva or Atlas notice that hundreds or even thousands of Grimm at their Dead Zone suddenly go… poof?"

Ruby scrunched up her eyebrows a little. She did try to keep herself updated as much as possible on the current times – it might seem contradictory to her philosophy, but the last thing any traveler needed was the sudden embroilment in national conflicts or worse, war – but man did she _hate _political talks, "On what terms Vytal is with those two Kingdoms again?"

"Amiable as usual, nothing strange. We're _allies_, Ruby. You're… not suggesting an invasion, are you?"

The look of skepticism on Yang's eyes were so cutting that Ruby couldn't help but defend herself, "You know I don't like keeping track on these kind of things, and relationship between Kingdoms are so fickle! Do you know how much trouble I've gone through because those bastards wouldn't stop backstabbing each other?"

Yang raised an appeasing hand quickly, "Okay, okay, got it. But still, I don't think they will attempt something as crazy as that – I mean, Grimm Tamers are one thing, but they're on the other side of the world and both Atlas _and _Shiva had pretty clear cut policies. Atlas promotes the use of technology to supplement or _substitute _Hunters for the war against Grimm, and Shiva has been eternally neutral since _forever_. No way will either of them use the Grimm, even if we suppose for doubt's sake that there's reason to backstab their staunchest ally."

"Maybe something's changed," Ruby muttered as she recalled something, "I think I heard that there's a change of head in Shiva yesterday, something about a coup –"

"Wait WHAT!?" abruptly Yang shoved her face directly into Ruby's with eyes wide as saucers, forcing the younger girl to lean back in mild shock, "WHEN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!? I DIDN'T KNOW!"

"I just said _yesterday _–" Ruby shoved hard until Yang wasn't spitting saliva all over her face, "– As in yesterday night, when I was talking to the bar owner and _you _were dead drunk. And don't ask me for details, because I didn't ask."

"HOW COULD YOU NOT ASK!? Oh boy, who will think that princess perfect is actually out of the game! I need to check this out right _now _and – OH GOD DAMN IT, THERE'S NO LINE! STUPID FOG!"

"Quiet down! Are you trying to wake up a real ghost or something?" Ruby scolded angrily before the excited blonde sank meekly back to her feet, "Anyway, it doesn't really relate to our topic. The coup happened only yesterday, but this tunnel of ours had to be at least a few months old already. So let's forget everything about Shiva, okay?"

"You're the one who suggested it in the first place –"

"_Nope."_

The single word and laser glare was enough to zip Yang's mouth tight and pretty. Neither of them spoke for a time as the silence hovered above the air aimlessly.

"Say – how many candies do you think you can eat, Yang?" Ruby said lazily as she stood up from the ground, and pat the soil off her skirt.

Yang's eyes widened for a second before she began rubbing at her knees. Then, she stood up on her feet and stretched her back, "Ah. Well, if it's a strawberry ice cream milkshake extra-large, then… twenty I guess."

"Huh. That's good enough for me to clean up the giant cookie monster. But what about the sugar bomb?"

"Oh, you. Don't be shy! Just say how much you want, and I'll make it as sweet as it can be."

"If you have enough sugar that is. Don't force yourself. Is a hill fine?"

"No problem-o. Just give the count, and hill you shall see."

"Good girl. Then in three, two, one and –" Ruby cocked her scythe to her back and grinned devilishly, _"Go."_

In an instant Yang detonated outwards like a bomb, and the sheer force of the explosion shoved away all the fog at once. The black corruption swirled outwards like an arching wave groaning in an unearthly tone, before it suddenly rushed back down with such swiftness that it almost caught Yang by surprise. But the blonde had been watching Ruby's movements for a month and more, and compared to her this was just _cheap _as she stood her ground resolutely and threw fire blast after fire blast into the air, exploiting both heat waves and shockwaves to keep it safely at a distance. Meanwhile, Ruby had instead split away from her partner and utilizing Yang's tremendous explosion, dashed right _into _the hostile black fog with paranormal speed and vanished like she was never there.

This was the battle plan they had discussed even before entering the forest, should the worst case scenarios actually happened. Yang would be tasked to hold the enemy's attention and defend a position for a certain amount of time. With her Semblance of holy fire and huge reserves of energy, there was no one more suited than her for this task, not to mention that Yang's tendency for flashiness and huge noise would help Ruby pinpoint her location whenever need be. In the meantime Ruby would venture deep into the enemy's heart to seek out and defeat this mysterious entity that had created the deadly fog of darkness; that was all that needed to be said. The time they had agreed upon was twenty minutes. Admittedly it was a crude plan at best and the risk of failure was inevitable death, but both of them had gone through life-and-death experiences with far higher stakes than just their own lives, and this was the first time the duo truly fought together as partners after the extraordinary events at Jiu Xu.

Failure was not an option.

* * *

><p>Ruby Rose zipped across the thick foliage like lightning, relying completely on her great sense of direction and incredible reactions to navigate her through the living maze of shadows. Given the choice Ruby would have chosen to travel at a slower speed, for not only she had to dodge stationary branches and trees she could not see until they were right in front of her, she was also occupied with the task of detecting this strange entity that had to be lurking somewhere within the forest. Worse, the damnable mist was constantly pressing down on her, creating immense pressure if she tried to slow down even just a little, and while almost all of her body were layered with Dust certain places such as the eyes were not. The black fog was unfortunately intelligent enough to exploit these vulnerable points of weakness, and Aura or not they were definitely <em>painful<em>. As for her breathing? If the questioner was there, she would've kicked the person right at the crotch. Hard.

But Yang's distraction was definitely working, for not only she wasn't buffeted as much as she had expected it to be, even her vision seemed improved a little since most of the fog's powers were concentrated on Yang. As she leaped right on top of a tree branch to avoid a particular tall hill of carcasses blocking the way, murky tendrils darker than black snaked pointedly towards the Executioner, forcing her to whip out Crescent Rose from an awkward position in attempt to neutralize the assault. However, the blow lacked real force behind it, and they simply circled harmlessly around her weapon and sped straight towards the eyes. In desperation Ruby leaned back and dropped towards the ground, barely dodging the streaks by inches before rolling into three consecutive gunshots that instantly shattered the tendrils into tiny specks of darkness; thank Remnant for Dust. Without waiting to see if the smoke would spawn new nightmares for her to deal with, Ruby quickly turned tail and ran like hell. She had scouted through one third of her imagined search area; it should not be long now before she discovered this entity.

* * *

><p>Yang skidded across the forest floor in a cloud of soil, narrowly avoiding a pouch of fog punching from top to bottom before she fired off a shotgun shell to disperse it right at the center. At the same time, six tiny, near invisible black spears snaked from the blonde's blind spot with clear intentions of ambushing her, but having faced the exact same trick before – the results of her frantic, last ditch defense resulting in just three broken ribs rather than being skewered on the spot – Yang didn't even look as she flung golden fire and burned them all into crisp. Strange that the fog would suddenly have form to burn really, but she was not about to complain her good fortune. Even under such terrific assault her situation had to be better than Ruby's – the latter was completely reliant on her improvised Dust protection and sheer Auric strength to bear any attacks.<p>

"Wha – Nngh! God dammit, just give up already!"

Yang groaned when a slithering chain from the bushes managed to grab her for an instant, forcing her to bear the brunt of a huge black ram slamming in like a truck before she blew them all away. Still the enemy came relentlessly from all directions, and her injuries and exhaustion were really starting to affect her game. Not only was she exhausting her Semblance far too quickly – funny how melting stone took less effort than blasting away at thin air – she had to flip and twirl and roll and even rocket up into the air all over the place just to avoid the crazy onslaught raining atop her head. She might have good stamina, but no one could push themselves constantly to the limits like this, not without the chance to take even a breather.

She needed to come up with a plan, needed a way to at least slow down or delay the enemy, because otherwise she was not going to last even the next five minutes.

* * *

><p>Ruby was getting frustrated. By now she had covered three quarters of her expected search area, and yet she still did not sense anything that might qualify as a source of power. Had she made a mistake? Did she miscalculated somewhere? Doubt was beginning to flood her heart like the choking fog all around her, but the young girl forced herself to keep calm and think of a solution. This fog could <em>not <em>be natural – the world might have tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, and lightning storms; but there was no natural phenomenon in the world that would hunt down its victims like a living predator. This could not even be machinery, for Ruby distinctly felt a distinct will behind each and every act of the black fog trying to kill her, to _consume_ her whole just like how it did the Grimm. Something or someone must be controlling this mist, and if there's a will then there's a way for her to drag it out from whatever hole it's hiding and repay the favor in multiples.

So what did she miss? Perhaps there were more than just one perpetrator, but although it would explain the size of this damnable fog there seemed to be no reason why she wouldn't detect any of them earlier. Big numbers were usually hard to miss, and for Demons triply so. Was her senses tampered with then, or the difficulty of breathing and constant exercise distorting her ability to detect the pulses of power? Even if she went back to the unlikely possibility that this was a Semblance, but then wouldn't it be strange that she could feel Yang's Aura flaring so clearly in her mind, but not the conjurer who came up with this monster?

Ruby pondered for a few minutes more, but in the end she had no choice but to give up. There were simply too many unknown variables, and her most reliable information about the black fog were verbal tales told by pub owners, men who chop wood for a living and fan boys. She'd just have to stick it out to the end and hope for the best. With clean shots Ruby exploded another three columns of shadows before she rushed past them in a gust of roses. This was it. In a few more minutes she would complete her search, and if she still had not discovered the source then she would have to retreat –

"Ughh?!"

Suddenly the former Executioner felt a sharp pain down her abdomen, and she looked down in surprise to see several shards of shadow lodged deep inside her stomach. She totally did not see it coming, just where did it come from? It took her a few seconds to work out that the enemy had camouflaged them as part of the forest, and in a world where everywhere she looked was black she had obviously failed to notice the deadly ambush. Ruby gritted her teeth and pulled the accursed things out of her wounds, crushing them into nothingness in the process. This was bad. She was lucky that her Dust reinforced clothing had saved her life, but this was still a very bad situation. Yang's distraction was losing its effect, and the shadows were obviously starting to pay attention to her. She had to act _now._

But just what was she going to do? Resting or binding her wounds were obviously out of the question, so she could only hope to come to a resolution before blood loss eventually incapacitated her; as if suffocation wasn't doing her in already. Her Semblance of speed was equally out of option – every second spent within this acidic fog was a constant drain on her Aura, and at this point she had no choice but to conserve every last ounce of it. Shit, she was starting to sound pessimistic. Ruby rifled herself up into the air to dodge another trap just in time, but already her head was starting to spin into eventual dizziness. In the end, there was no escape of the question Ruby hated the most. Fight or flight? Live or –

_Wait a second_. A stroke of inspiration flashed through like lightning, and she felt her eyes widened with incredulous realization. Could it be? Was it really that simple? There was no time to think, the black shards were firing at her direction again in far larger spread and numbers. For the first time since the engage, Ruby cracked loose a fearsome smile and extended her rifle into scythe form again and with a single shot, broke her fall and propelled herself horizontally instead. Even at the risk of missing another potentially deadly ambush, Ruby did not allow her eyes to stray away from the shards sailing past her cheeks. As the projectiles reached higher into the sky, they began to thin out, fade, and finally disappeared as if they never existed.

Ruby shook her head in disbelief. She should've known from the very beginning; the damn things _were _vulnerable to sunlight. That's why it never extended above tree level! Because Yang's Semblance was so prominent against the dark, she actually fooled herself into thinking that only her flames could fight against the fog, and did not even think about the possibility of another weakness. What an idiotic mistake to make!

"Tch, I'll beat myself up later. Only one more thing to confirm now…" As the scythe wielder fell near a particularly thick branch of tree, she made sure that the inner blades were lined in parallel before hooking Crescent Rose right onto it. Then, she allowed the momentum to swing her into rapid loops, and with a final and powerful twist of her body, Ruby launched herself up to the sky like a firing rocket. The feeling of finally breaking out of the fog was indescribable, and the touch of sunlight brushing into her skin was literally god blessed. But there was no time to savor the moment. Immediately Ruby flipped her back towards the sky so she would be facing towards the ground. There was only one thing she wanted to find, and she had at best ten seconds before the ascent would stop, and gravity pulling her back into the black hell once more.

Thankfully, what she needed proved not hard to find after all.

* * *

><p>Yang Xiao Long was no combat genius. She had known this for a fact since six years old, when she was forced to watch kids of the same age learning techniques better and faster than her, the daughter of the Dragon. However, she did not lament her lack of talent much – whatever tantrum Yang could've thrown, they were all done in the past with nothing left for the present or future. In fact, having infamous parents helped her got over the phase faster, because she learned that there were walls in this world that only very few people could ever overcome, and even then those powers more often than not carried with them a bloody, terrifying price. And if she ever felt such a temptation, all she needed to do was to look at Ruby Rose to snuff it out completely. She would jump off a cliff first before going through whatever horrors that had distorted her innocent partner so.<p>

But then both her parents and Ruby were exceptional cases. She was born and bred a fighter, and while she might accept the fact that there were fights you just could not win, she would _never _accept a loss without giving her very damn best. In one fluid motion, the focused blonde spun on her feet three times in a row to kick away at a series of deadly bolts, and the moment the attacks stopped coming she sucked in a deep breath and slammed one foot down onto the ground with everything she got. The earth beneath her feet crumbled, and all the sudden a golden ring of fire burst forth from below as if it was from hell itself, scaring even the eerie fog to shirk far, far away from the sudden flare. But Yang too felt tremendous exhaustion from the effort and came too close to fainting right there and then. The blonde slammed a fist forcefully into her broken ribs – a half screech wheezing out of her nose as she endured the pain – to keep herself awake. _Not yet, _she told herself firmly, _everything is done. Now all I need to do is hold out until 'it' begins._

But just as she finished the thought, the wall of fire defending her sizzled and died, and suddenly the infinite shadows gushed in from every direction all at once to bury her in death. There were no pretensions, no ambushes, no ingenious shapes of murder and torment – just pure, dark fury trying to swallow her waning light whole once and for all. Something must have happened on Ruby's side for it to switch tactics so suddenly, or maybe the will behind the fog simply saw through the weakness behind her die hard facade and decided that enough was enough. Whatever its intentions might be there was only one course of action, and Yang summoned every ounce of strength she had left into a coat of fire that would defend her from all harm. She gritted her teeth, and waited: This was it, one final hurdle before the curtain end. There might be a time to give up, but it sure as hell wasn't now!

The waves of darkness crashed, and despite her readiness Yang still convulsed as if she had been struck by lightning. There was no describing the feeling of being crushed by a slammer, then tossed around like a baby inside a giant washing machine. Yang didn't bother holding on to her dignity and tried screaming as hard as her lungs would allow, but she didn't even have any breath left inside them as only a pathetic wheeze belched out. But unlike last time in the caves, her fiery protection held firmly in place. Unlike last time, Yang managed to stay conscious throughout the entire ordeal to keep the flames alive. But time was desperately against her, and her lungs burned with such a need for oxygen that it took every ounce of willpower not to swallow a mouthful of darkness. _Anytime now! _Yang Xiao Long mused dizzily as she began to see golden stars and her life flashing before her eyes, _and no time better than _now_, please!_

She got her wish. Suddenly a ray of light cut through the darkness before her, and then another, and as if the density that almost crushed her was all a lie they all lifted at once, and the world glowed so bright that she had to close her own eyes. Yang sucked in a huge breath greedily, and was glad from the bottom of her heart that it was pure fresh air. Even as she fell down hard against the grassy ground, Yang could not stop grinning from ear to ear. It worked! Everywhere she looked golden fire _burned_, and no matter how much the fog writhed and struggled to lay a hand at the utterly drained Huntress, they could not overcome the sea of flames that was greedily feeding at its own corrupted body, and sure enough, _all _of the ominous fog soon slunk back into their holes before vanishing completely.

Yang had realized long ago that the dark fog was sensitive towards light, noticing that they've always kept _underneath the trees, _but never above. Since then she had been thinking about exploiting that weakness to her favor, but unfortunately this was a huge, dense forest, and she couldn't just knock down every stupid tree within vicinity until an open plain formed up. There was also no guarantee that the sunlight would be strong enough to counteract it anyway, and what if the weather was cloudy? So instead, she opted for the other alternative: If she couldn't use natural sunlight, then why not try making lots and lots of light of her own? So when the battle plan had commenced, Yang immediately worked like a demon to burn not just the incoming fog, but also every foliage she could find within sight. Overkill was not an issue, and in fact overkill was exactly what she was going for. She aimed, to start a forest fire.

It was not nearly as easy as it seemed, though. In fact, the stupid plan of knocking down every tree might actually be less taxing. Her golden flames might be absolute bane against anything of the dark, but on everything else it was just as effective as your everyday fire. In the belly of a thick and wet rain forest such as this, especially with the moderately cold climates of Bamborsa's environment, Yang quickly found out that it was nearly impossible for anything to catch on fire for long. However, she was already committed, and so she spent much strength – and given the ferocity of the shadow's onslaught, she could not have done any less – blasting flames all over the place, trying to heat up and dry the immediate environment as much as she could. Then, as a final push she stamped into the ground the largest shockwave of heat she could muster, one hundred percent evaporating every trace of fluid within at least ten meters radius of vicinity. The resultant wall of fire was a lucky byproduct that helped buy more precious time, and in the end, she came out victorious. She could be proud of herself; she had just beaten back a Demon, _solo!_

Yang tried climbing back to her feet, only to crumble unceremoniously onto the hard, barren ground. Her eyes were swarming with black-and-white dots, and she did not have the strength to lift even half a finger. While the crackling fire were a little too close for comfort, it was common knowledge that one's Semblance could not harm themselves or their hosts, and it wasn't like the forest fire would spread into something massive anyway. Nature was such a scarily resilient thing, and with the sky looking dark and cloudy, her flames would likely die out faster than expected. The resultant smoke could be a problem, but she was lying flat on the ground so it should be fine, and honestly, she'd suck in poisonous smoke any day than stand another second with that bloody fog. There was one worry left though: What if Ruby failed to destroy the true source of the mist?

_Hah. Like that would happen._ The blonde gingerly flipped onto her undamaged sides and propped her head onto one arm. Twenty seconds later, she began to snore.

* * *

><p>Her grip on the barrel slipped constantly against the battering of the wind, and Ruby fought hard to keep her aim steady. There was only one thing she needed to hit, and it was none other than the eye of the fog; the single, curiously untouched hole amongst the swirling mist of doom. From the way the fog was twisting and gathering rapidly unto that point trying to form a defensive shield even out in the open, she gathered that it understood completely that she knew of its weakness and was desperate to stop her. This would've been a neigh impossible shot had the eye moved away in any direction, but strangely enough, it never strayed away from its point of origin. Perhaps it was the price to conjure such an awesome territory of darkness; she couldn't know – speaking of which, she <em>still <em>could not sense any power at all from the center, but at this point it no longer mattered – but she definitely appreciated the little bit of good luck, for she was already beginning to lose altitude rapidly.

One chance, then. She had exactly one chance to fire out one .50-caliber bullet, the largest one she had that should hold a steady course long enough to hit the target. It was not an easy shot by any means, not to mention that the hasty shield covering the eye, flimsy it might be, could make all the difference between success and failure. But she had faced similar difficult situations in the past and overcame them all the same, and this would be no different. Ruby curled her fingers firmly onto the trigger and aimed carefully. Now, it was only a matter of when.

Strangely though, the young Huntress hesitated just for a brief moment. Uncharacteristically, Ruby Rose wondered if there was anyone else in the world like her. Fifteen and a half years old, and she had underwent more extraordinary experiences than thousands of people would find in a lifetime, and now, falling from above the sky with her trusty scope trained at the dead center of the blackest and ugliest writhing vortex she had ever seen, the young girl felt the tugging of undecipherable emotions almost as strong as the day her Master died. What were these feelings? Why did she feel like she could cry, even though there was nothing to be sad of? She did not understand. Perhaps Yang would have the answer, but just thinking of Yang's reaction to the question made her want to slaughter the woman. Ruby felt a slight tugging along her lips, and muttered a silent prayer. Then, for the first in a long time, not drawn forcefully by anyone's actions or manipulative substances, through her own will and hers alone, Ruby Rose, smiled.

Then, she pulled the trigger.

* * *

><p>The pain was sudden. A vicious flare that had erupted from her abdomen and seared involuntary screams out of her dry throat. And yet even as she huddled in fear, thinking that the monster had finally taken full dominion over her soul, Blake Belladonna understood instinctively that something was different, that the pain came not from her spirit – which would have been the case, if the monster within was trying to crush her – but her actual body. Wait – she could <em>feel <em>her own throat!

A burst of hope sparked within her heart – somehow the _thing's _hold over her had weakened significantly, and as the woman struggled again she was surprised to find how easy it was to wrestle back control. In seconds, she was back within herself again, feeling tingling fingers and clammy feet and even splitting headaches with such ridiculous relief that she almost broke down on the spot. What happened? Why had the monster quit at the last moment? She had no idea what had happened for the longest of time, for the first thing the monster did once it came to realization was to blind her completely from everything of the outside world. Why did it suddenly change its mind? No, what _forced _it to change its mind? Suddenly, she recalled the two Huntresses – did they actually _defeat _the thing? But that was just impossible!

A few seconds later, Blake decided that the questions could wait until after a shower and a good night's sleep, and she took a step forwards to do exactly that. Or at least, she tried. Blake frowned when she noticed that her feet weren't moving and glanced downwards. At first she couldn't understand what she was seeing. There was a hole. A fresh, gaping, bloody thing at the center of her stomach literally big enough to put a hand in. Was she dreaming? _Oh, no. _Blake tried a hand dizzily over the wound, only to find it to be as real as it seemed, and her palm completely drenched in warm, red blood. She ought to sit down and rest, maybe find a hospital that could work instant miracles, but for some reason, all she could think about was her friend's birthday. _I don't think I can make it, Elliot. I..._

Blake Belladonna collapsed to the ground, still and unmoving. Somewhere at a distance, a thunder rumbled.

Then, it began to rain.


	7. Devil Wind - Drunken Night

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I was caught by a surprise road trip to Brunei, and who am I to deny a god sent opportunity to see new wonders and inspirations? Who am I to reject the obvious lack of preparation, the heartfelt talk between my friends and his friends until 6 in the morning, or the 3 hours of sleep alternating between a car, a hostel's table and a comfy cushion at Starbucks?**

**That being said the pure gold domes of the mosques and that mouth watering sushi was really nice ~**

* * *

><p>By the time the weary duo finally settled down at Bamborsa, it was already near evening.<p>

Getting back into town was not the issue. Even Ruby agreed that camping out in the rain wasn't the best for their condition, and there was always the possibility that the fog was not completely eradicated. The mysterious legion of Grimm was also a concern, and neither Ruby nor Yang felt like being disturbed while they're treating their broken ribs and bleeding guts. Ruby wanted to change her mind though, when Yang suddenly whipped out her scroll the moment they exited the forest and called over her escorts. The disdain in her eyes could practically scorch the sun when the fanboys rushed over in maximum haste, complete with two sets of stretchers and an unholy mountain of meds no one could use up even if there were a hundred men on the verge of death. As Yang lazily pulled herself into one of those silky white _death traps_ and signaled for the guys to raise her up to their shoulders like a princess – _Remnant's above_; _they actually _are _made of silk! _– the blonde asked cheerfully,

"What are you waiting for, sis? Hop up already!"

"No thanks. I'll walk."

"Oh c'mon, it's a totally authentic mode of transport in Jiu Xu; we call it the litter! Granted this is a little unorthodox, but don't tell me you're embarrassed or –"

"Yang Xiao Long, I. Will. _Walk._"

And so they made it back into Bamborsa safely without further incidents, with Yang snoring her way through the entire stretch back to town, and Ruby looking like she wanted sink into a hole and hide, and she would have if she wasn't still wary about the possible dangers behind their immediate surroundings. _Stupid happy-go-lucky idiot!_ When they finally passed through the Southern walls and into safety's embrace, the young girl all but ran away when _everyone _within vicinity showered their unlikely charade with a mix of awed and incredulous gazes. The attention was in her opinion worse than having to fight a million Demons, and Yang had to ditch her fanboys in haste to catch up to the vanishing Ruby. That was the last they would see of the duo until a very long time. Many hearts were broken that day, but there were far, far more that became ridden with first loves and delusions. Although the two partners would not know it until much later, one of her devoted escorts would eventually write Yang's 'harmless' little antics into a bestselling, romance-genre book, as the duo became immortalized in text as the sun blessed goddess chasing and her cute little red bride, courting each other in fits of giggles and angst from the beginning to the end of Remnant. You could just imagine the shrieks of horror or grim promises of absolute annihilation, depending on who you're looking for, but that would be a story for another time.

As the duo looked for a hotel room where they could treat themselves more thoroughly in peace, they quickly discovered a huge problem with that simple plan: although the southern gates were still in lockdown and no further official notices were announced since this morning's, there were still many people who decided to park a night and see if the situation would improve tomorrow. As such most of the accommodations they could find had been booked to maximum capacity, and their previous hotel practically screamed that they would sooner take in a mafia than let them past the front door. Yang would have called for her escorts again, except that Ruby's glare was so searing that she hastily snapped the scroll shut before any property or bodily harm would come to her. Hence, the duo had no choice but to devote the majority of the afternoon just to find that one room to stay in, and in the end they had to settle for a particularly shady motel situated at the quietest corner of the Mario Street.

As usual, Ruby was paranoid about being invisible – even though their return into Bamborsa was anything _but_; Yang was starting to suspect that she was just really, really, _really _afraid of any kind of spotlight – and under Ruby's request, Yang crumpled seven bugs and spy cams placed at various hidden spots into useless metal, and just in case they missed out on anything, stuffed every crook and nanny in the room with either debris or rubbish. Since the task delayed them further from getting into bed and pass out as soon as possible, the miffed blonde would later do the smart thing of extorting a free stay for the night, a ridiculously exquisite dinner, and some pocket cash out of the poor owner with well framed legal threats, thanks to the teachings of a certain perfect grade friend of hers. Even Ruby had approved of her actions, albeit for reasons completely different from Yang's or anyone's common sense for the matter ("Good job. We absolutely cannot risk footage of our faces leaking into the Net, and –" "Uh, right, you're bleeding out of your guts and _that's_ what you're worried about. Moving on…"). Once they were finally done treating their wounds, without even waiting to change their clothes the duo crumpled unanimously on their beds and slept all the way until late evening. It had been a hard fought day after all.

"So, big sis," Yang yawned sleepily with a cat's stretch on top of her single bed, "What was it? You know, the thing or people or whatever that made that yucky fog?"

Ruby was disassembling her sniper scythe for a cleanup as she worked attentively on the plank floor. This was common maintenance she performed at least twice a day to ensure that Crescent Rose was always functional, because her constant travelling made it quick for dust or debris to clog the chambers or folds. Today's task though was a little different than usual. With deft fingers, she pulled free the magazine assembly of her rifle and began meticulously clean out the corners with a thin pick, "Unfortunately I didn't manage to get close enough to see what it is, and I can only get in one a .50 from the sky. But the black fog did dissipate immediately after the bullet hit, so I suppose that our Demon is destroyed after all. There's nothing to worry about."

"Huh. Is that so?" Yang paused for a second before continuing on to the next question, "What about the Grimm then? Are we going to investigate that tomorrow?"

Ruby slid a cool eye down to Yang's sides and asked, "How's the rib?"

The blonde could only bow her head and groaned, "Aw, shit. I know that tone."

"Exactly. I told you, Yang, we can't stuff our nose into every business we run into. Besides, the black fog has killed at least a thousand of them, and the frontier bases - even the Vytal central military - will have known about this incident by now. Whoever orchestrated this assault will be foolish to try again with the element of surprise no longer on their side. All the holes will be plugged very, very soon, and are not needed."

Yang argued, "But what if it's a Demon behind this? Then –"

Ruby cut Yang off quickly with a glare, "You've already baited me once, Yang; don't you do it a second time. A large scale Grimm attack is _very _common depending on the location, and this is once – still is – a hot spot as well if it isn't for the black fog's intervention. Also, I told you: _we, are not needed._"

There was a pregnant pause, and Yang replied slowly, "Ah… I see. No matter how bad it gets, _someone _will handle _all _of the problems, eh?"

"Yes," nodded Ruby.

"… I assume that we will need to leave soon, then."

Ruby shook her head, "We do, but thankfully we're not in _that _much of a hurry. To them, this is just like any other incident. There are some fanatics who will rush here at first notice, and then there are some peculiars whose actions are impossible to predict, but we have time. Just rest easy for now, and we'll leave first thing at daybreak. Okay?"

"… If you say so, big sis. You're the boss."

For some reason Ruby felt that something was off with Yang's reply, like her heart wasn't really in it, but before she could raise it the blonde suddenly interrupted with a burst of sudden cheer,

"Anyway, _hurray! _Our first tag team monster slaying is a _complete success! _Naturally celebrations must be in due, and there's this_ seriously_ cool-looking bar I'm sure we just passed by an hour ago –"

"Yang Xiao Long," Ruby said flatly in a tone that instantly shut her partner up, "What did I tell you this morning? I don't care where you consume your alcohol, but I do _not _want to be in the same bar as you. One time is enough."

The blonde looked crestfallen for a second before she bounced back with double vigor, "Okay, that is totally fine! You go have a good time, sis, and I will –"

Ruby held up a hand, "I haven't finished yet. Just to make absolutely sure that we don't run into each other by accident, I'm going to declare which bars I'm going to be in right now. I believe that's a totally fair decision, right?"

Yang's face blanched into a greenish white hue. She could see where this was going. The young girl might be smiling as innocently as an angel, but all Yang could see was a devil sucking out every bit of hope and happiness from her heart. Still there was no escaping the execution, as the blonde asked with a dejected look, "Right. No problem, ma'am! So um, exactly which…?"

"That cool bar of yours sounds like a good start," Ruby could not help but smirk a little at her withering partner. While she did feel sorry for tormenting Yang like that, sometimes one must simply do what had to be done, "In fact, I may be in _all _of them except for the one we visited yesterday. You know, the one whose tables and chairs and dance floors and even the walls you completely marred without recognition? I'm _sure _the bar owner has a _lot _to talk to you about. So… anymore _questions?_"

It was super effective. Yang slid off her bed and hit the ground face first with a resounding thump. At first Ruby was worried that she might have gone a little too far, but as yesterday's 'trip' flashed by her memory she chose to keep her silence instead. Her personal plans aside, the old man certainly deserved some compensation for the damage Yanghad caused yesterday. As she reassembled Crescent Rose back to normal, Ruby grabbed her utility belt and asked casually,

"I'm going to resupply a bit at the Dust shop; that fight used up a lot more ammunition than I thought. Is there anything you want me to get?"

"_NnnnnnnnrrrrraaaAAARRGGGGHhhh."_

She'd take that as a no. Bidding the defeated Yang a simple goodbye, Ruby walked towards the window and leaped down gently onto the side road. There were people who were throwing strange looks at her, but the young girl simply ignored them all and headed straight towards her desired destinations. The first place to go of course was the Dust shop. No need to raise unnecessary suspicion by altering her course when she did need to buy some gear there anyway. The second destination would be the bar from yesterday. She'd expect the blonde to go there and drink off all the miseries she had bundled onto her back, and by hinting at her debt she also sealed away any possibility that Yang might decide not to drink for the night. That must not be the case. She planned to ask a favor from the old man to hold Yang there _and _silly drunk for as long as possible, preferably until the promised daybreak. Ruby really disliked manipulating her partner's compassion like that, but it was also the only way.

After all, Yang simply must not know when she sneaked out at midnight to finally take care of some unfinished business.

* * *

><p>"Ruby paid you to keep me here, didn't she?"<p>

After being in this profession for eighteen years, Percy had seen his fair share of life that surprise did not come easily. He was neither surprised to serve a single customer in a broken bar under renovations, nor was he fazed by the direct ball flung out of nowhere by his customer. In fact, he ate at least a dozen of those every working night. Still, he had to give this girl – Yang, was it? – credit, for there was something unique in her tone that nearly made him fumble his grasp.

"Ruby? You mean the young girl from yesterday?" the old man said kindly and passed over a white-colored vintage branded _Tahbilk Marsanne, _and a glass of ice, "_In vino veritas_. The answer is no, if you're referring to anything of accountable value such as Lien or more."

Yang looked back and forth between Percy and the offered wine, before accepting it sourly and drank the liquid directly from the bottle. She stopped when half the wine was gone and muttered,

"A favor then. I knew it. She _is _hiding something from me."

Percy asked casually, "You sound troubled. Do you want to talk about it?"

Yang looked up in slight annoyance and countered, "Is every bartender in the world so nosy about things?"

The old man merely chuckled, brushing off the faint hostility as if it was mere dust, "Oh no, you certainly do not need to tell me anything. It's just that some things are better to let loose into the open then stuffed down deep inside one's heart, won't you agree?"

"Such a smooth talker. No wonder Ruby fell for you in just one night," the brawler said sarcastically before letting loose an accepting sigh, "But fine, I'll bite. I suspect that my dear partner Ruby is about to do something dangerous, and she's trying to keep it a secret from me. Ring any familiar bells yet?"

"Can't say I do, I'm afraid," Percy said amiably as he picked up an empty wine glass from the tray and began wiping it meticulously, "But perhaps you're jumping to conclusions? It can be something harmless; everyone has their own many secrets. You may even be mistaken about your perceptions."

"Have you seen how _unnatural _she acts when she lies?" Yang said exasperatedly as she drained yet another mouthful of the wine, "Let me just put it this way. There's this one thing that drives her totally obsessed, and she refuses to slow down until said thing is absolutely done, and will double or even triple check to make sure what's dead _stays _dead. But this evening she's acting the complete opposite, it's like she doesn't even _care _about it and that's just imp– ah, dammit, you don't understand a thing about what I'm telling you, do you?"

The old man flicked his impressive quiff and laughed, "I'm afraid not, miss Yang. You obviously can't tell me the whole picture, and without it I am as good as a blind man trying to judge a painting. But wait, I have a suggestion: Why don't you try and tell me what you _can _talk about Ruby and yourself?"

That gave Yang a bit of a pause as she sipped at her bottle, before frowning a little when she found it empty. Ever the attentive server, Percy already had a Lindeman's Reserve Shiraz uncapped placed on the table accompanied with a new glass of ice. Yang scratched her head with a bit of awkwardness before finally relenting and poured herself a glass; the wine's color a vibrant purple imbued with a crimson hue. Unlike before, she took her time to sip her drink slowly, savoring its spicy yet elegant tastes with a hint of vanilla.

"I guess there are things that I can talk about," Yang mused, "What is your first impression of Ruby?"

"Hmm. She's obviously very young, but a very smart girl. Very attentive and careful, and there's a certain sharpness to her that you don't usually find even among Hunters."

"Haha! That's a pretty damn good analysis for a first impression, old man! Not bad at all!" Yang chuckled a little before continuing, "Okay then. I can't tell you how we first met, because it'll involve certain things that can't be said and bad memories; although I can tell you a bit about the first few weeks we've travelled together. But first, can you guess how Ruby is when she is on the road?"

"Hmm. I suppose she acts about the same as she is now," Percy answered mildly. Yang on the other hand laughed aloud as she slapped a palm onto the table,

"That's what I thought too when I first went out with her, you know! But guess what? You're _dead _wrong. You see, Ruby is a chronic loner. I know it sounds hard to believe, but she has always travelled around Remnant by herself before I came along the party. Therefore she has a ton of experiences and is incredibly independent and reliable, but it also made her into somewhat – eh, there's no good way of putting it – a _gigantic prick._

When we first started out, she like, the literal embodiment of the words 'loner' and 'selfishness'. I am not joking when I say that I am no different than her luggage at the time. She never asks for my opinion, she always acted on her own without warning, and she barely even talked _a_ _sentence_ after I've barraged her with _a_ _hundred_ before turning off again like a freaking robot. You can't even begin to understand my confusion unless you've seen it yourself, because she totally isn't like that normally and is like, well, Ruby when we first met each other. It isn't until a whole week after we journeyed together that I understand why.

You see, there are currently two facades that I know of Ruby Rose. The first one is the one I knew best – sarcastic, sadistic and a bully, and yet so innocent and naive at times that she can't even lie to save her own life. I call her the 'city Ruby'. The second facade is the 'survivor Ruby', and this one – at the beginning at least – frankly speaking, really scares the crap out of me. She is like a lifeless robot programmed for one thing alone, and that is to get from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. She'll stop to eat. She'll stop to sleep. She'll even stop to slaughter the unfortunate Grimm who's stupid enough to block our way. But otherwise, everything else is just… gone.

When we do meet another traveler though, 'city Ruby' will come out and she'll talk to them like a normal person until she's done getting whatever she wants from them. But when I try to talk to her afterwards, she'll change back to 'survivor Ruby' again and walk away like I don't even exist. It's like there's an on-off button to her humanity, or a switch where one click will turn the young friend I know into the silent, deadly survivalist who cares for nothing except accomplishing her objectives. I can't handle it. I can't stand being ignored twenty four _fucking _seven, I can't stand that some _fucking _random stranger talked more words to Ruby than I did for the _entire week_, I just… after three weeks of complete and utter ignorance, I just exploded like a nuclear and walked away. I meant it to be forever, too."

Yang spoke soft as a whisper, not even noticing that she was again drinking through the bottle by force of habit, except that it had been completely dry since a few minutes ago. As the blonde fought to control her agitation, before she knew it Percy had grabbed open Yang's palm and handed over a glass of plain ol' beer. Quietly, he said,

"I'm sorry. You don't need to tell me that. Here, take this."

"No – Ah – Actually, yeah. Sorry," Yang drained the whole glass in a single gulp and felt them burned all the way down her throat. Now _this _was what she'd call a real drink, "Thanks. I needed that."

"You're welcome," the smile came back up again, although this time it was wrought with concern and a tinge of sadness, "I should've realized it sooner. This is not how I want my patrons to feel, when they come to my bar and tell me their stories."

"It's really not your fault, sir. These are _my _experiences, of course there's nothing you can do to change them," Yang hastily added, "Besides, it turned out okay in the end! Me and Ruby, we're totally fine now!… Mostly."

"Still, I think that's enough storytelling for the day," Percy said apologetically while passing over a glass of beer. This time he even had one of his own, as the two of them smacked glasses and drank their fill, "When one day you can look back and laugh at those days from the bottom of your heart, then you can talk to me about it again."

"… Thank you," Yang nodded gratefully, and together the duo drank for a long time in mutual silence. Before they knew it, the antique clock on the wall had struck two, and Yang abruptly pulled out of the warm dizziness and felt the floor sway from underneath her chair. The blonde muttered a quiet curse; she had drunk way too much.

"I should go now," Yang wobbled unsteadily to her feet while grabbing a stool to stabilize herself, "Thank you for the night. Oh, I totally forgot – please use this card to cover for your expenses. I'm really sorry to have caused so much damage to your bar yesterday."

"Oh, it's nothing too serious, really. Someday, I'll tell you about that silver hair and his girlfriend razing my bar to the ground thirty years ago," the old man accepted the card appreciatively before pausing to ask a tentative question, "So, have your doubts cleared up a little? Do you think you've found an answer that you can be content with?"

The blonde looked up with surprise, before bowing her head a little and sank into deep thought. She had to admit that she had completely forgot all about the troubles plaguing her mind until now, but for some reason she felt like she was thinking clearer than ever before. She could now say for sure that Ruby was definitely hiding things from her, and the signs were on plain sight to be seen. To begin with, Ruby loathed Demons. She would never leave without confirming that her target was truly dead, so for her to declare so simply that the Demon was killed from a single gunshot, without even having seen its true form was simply unthinkable.

The next hint would be the possibility of _Executioners _coming into town in case there was a Demon around to slay. From the first day she met her, Ruby had declared that she was a fugitive of The Order, and that they would want nothing more than to end her life. To escape from them, she had spent more time in the wilderness than anywhere else, and avoided any forms of human contact as much as possible. Now that an Executioner or even Executioner_s _were coming, to think that Ruby would want to stay here for even a second longer and risk exposure was unnatural to say the least.

And then there was this whole drinking farce. Ironically, it was the one she fell for completely despite knowing that something was incredibly fishy from the beginning, if her wobbling feet were any indication. Ruby didn't want her to be sober or combat ready. She didn't even want her to be awake. The plan was for her to snore it off all the way until daybreak so Ruby would be free to do whatever she wanted to do, _alone_. With all these hints gathered together, Yang could only think of one thing that would explain Ruby's extraordinary behaviors, and she had to suppress a heartfelt groan when the revelation struck down like a truck.

The Demon, the black fog that had taken _both _of them at their peak condition to defeat, was still alive, and Ruby was going back into the forest _alone _to kill it once and for all. The reason she did not tell her this was simple: she could fool herself by saying that Ruby was simply concerned for her injuries, or that she knew that she could handle this alone and did not want to add unnecessary risks – the Demon _had _to be much weakened after all. They might even all be the truth. But in the end, it all boiled down to just one thing. Yang Xiao Long, in Ruby Rose's eyes, was still _far too weak _to be of use in the battle against a Demon. She just did not trust her… enough.

_So. Am I going to be the meek little puppy listening to its owner – okay that's a little harsh, maybe just a meek little puppy to its Vacuo Shepard protector – and just pretend that everything is over, or am I going to say screw it all and just intervene anyway? Even though I'm hurt, drunk, and probably going to screw up Ruby's battle plan accidentally when I barge in totally without warning? In the worst case scenario, I might even…_

Slowly, Yang rose back up to her full height with her eyes closed, and sucked in a deep breath. Abruptly her body burst out in blinding golden light, illuminating the entire store with the beautiful Aura as they slowly faded little by little until all was back to normal again. The edge of Yang's lips curled into a vicious grin, and when she opened her eyes again they were both completely fiery red. Even then Percy looked as calm as he ever was, if one would ignore the fact that he's pouring down beer into an empty hand. Carefully, she plucked the bottle out of Percy's hands and placed it back on the table, finally stirring the old man from the shock.

"Once upon a time, I told myself that I am no longer a child. And I am not," Yang Xiao Long calmly replied, "Now, it's time to tell my grumpy little partner that Yang Xiao Long does not need to hide behind anyone's skirt either."


	8. Devil Wind - Break (I)

**Author's Note: The mystery deepens (not). Anyway, the next chapter Blake will finally be in the spotlight.**

* * *

><p>Ruby leaped nimbly from roof to roof, careful to keep her landings as soft as a cat's while avoiding the brightest spots of the small town. If possible she would have liked to avoid the sky routes, for even under the blanket of darkness her fluttering cloak was as striking as it was crimson, but not tonight. Tonight haste was of the essence, and she had this literal, nagging feeling that something terrible would happen if she did not act quickly. Never one to deny her instincts, Ruby decided to relinquish stealth and leaped two rooftops at once, her steps no longer quiet as she startled awoke a great many inhabitants with loud thumps above their heads. She shot through the night air like a sharp arrow, rapidly covering many distance with blinding speed.<p>

And still, it might not be enough.

Obviously, she had wanted to confront the Demon the moment she realized her shot wasn't enough to kill it completely, but at the same time she was too weary and hurt to push on. Moreover, she noticed that Yang's Aura had dwindled to a dangerous twinkle, and after a great inner struggle ultimately decided to give up the hunt – but only for that moment. Later on, she made plans to ensure that Yang would not stray outside of the town and hence stay safe, while preparing for the upcoming combat. At twelve a.m. sharp, she made one last check at the solitary bar to make sure that Yang was indeed there drinking her way to dreamland, before setting out to the forest to search for the enemy as soon as possible. Everything up till then had gone pretty much flawlessly, and Ruby Rose harbored a small hope within her heart that it would stay that way until everything was over.

But of course, reality loved kicking the butt of someone's wish, and Ruby quickly realized that between the night and the black fog's strange ability to elude her senses, locating the Demon was a task next to impossible. She had spent nearly two hours running across the forest ground, doing everything she could and even left herself completely open in attempt to bait the black fog into attacking her, to no avail. Either the Demon had decided to avoid all combats until fully healed, or it had already left this place and moved somewhere else. Ruby did not like any of those choices, because that would mean that she had no choice but to give up on the hunt. The Demon would live – however temporary it might be, considering that some of her former 'colleagues' were far more qualified in the tracking department – because she, the student of Summer Rose could not finish a simple job. No, she did not like this one bit at all.

Then, something extraordinary happened, and Ruby stumbled on her feet and had to lean against a tree for support. _Impossible. _It took her a second to process what was going on, and the next she found herself running like the wind towards the slumbering town, Bamborsa. It was an utterly absurd notion, but there was no doubting of the loathsome presence pressing against her mind. Somehow someway, the Demon was _inside_ the town _right_ _now. _It did not make sense. Earlier before no matter how hard she tried, the Demon was about as visible as plain air on her radar. But not only could she feel it clear as the sun now, its sheer presence was so _sharp _that it's like having the point of a hot knife shoved inside her brain. She had to shield her mind partially just to keep the agony from overwhelming her, and for some reason even though this 'new' monster felt dissimilar to the black fog from before, Ruby just _knew_ they were one and the same.

_How on earth did it get inside? No – don't tell me it's going after Yang!_

It was an irrational fear; a completely outlandish theory. Even if she assumed that the Demon wanted revenge Yang was the absolute worst kind of enemy to go after at its weakened state. But it was the _what if _that drove Ruby to speed forth like a madman, not even hesitating to use her Semblance all the way until she covered the forty minutes trek in just five minutes flat. _I won't let it happen again! _

And that was how she came to be back at Bamborsa, out of breath and her stomach wound hurting like a bitch. Thankfully, her worst nightmares had not come to fruition – just minutes away from the bar she felt Yang's unmistakable Aura flaring up there suddenly for whatever reason, and the Demon's presence was at a completely different direction much nearer to the town center. The moment Ruby confirmed through the blonde's strength of the soul that she was completely unharmed, the young girl switched directions instantly and sped towards the monster. It had been a day full of unwanted surprises, and Ruby just about had enough to last her the whole bloody month. _How nice of it to bring this to a 'home' field, _Ruby thought viciously with half a grin and snarl, _as repayment, I'll make sure to use every bit of advantage I get and shred it to pieces!_

As she landed on yet another roof though, Ruby suddenly heard a muffled scream from the road just ahead. With a soft hook onto a lamp post she quietly dropped herself into a dark alley, feet shuffling along cobblestone until she stopped just short at the far corner of the wall. More noises, more footsteps clacking against the ground. As she peeked towards the commotion, she saw a group of townsmen gathered in front of the big library, swinging about their flashlights and discussing something in a hushed but frantic manner. Most of them were armed with hunting rifles and long knives and even shotguns – _well, there is a Grimm-infested forest _– and one particular woman dark, curly hair was sobbing at the ruined front door in absolute hysterics. Ruby did not need to see to know what happened inside – the tang of blood was sharp even from this distance. The Demon had its first victim.

But why, though, at such a place? It could have killed near the outskirts if its purpose was murder, so why did it come all the way to the middle of town in a _library_ of all places, at bloody _two _in the morning to hunt its prey? It was a miracle there was anyone in there at all. Ruby frowned, and shoved the thoughts out of her head. All she needed to know was that there was a Demon, and there was her to make sure it ceased to exist. Everything else was secondary.

Wasting no more time, the young girl sneaked back into cover and climbed agilely to the rooftop. From now on stealth was of the essence. She made sure to keep every movement muted, and even bundled up her cloak into a knot to keep them from making noises. The Demon was close; she could literally _feel _it slithering inside her head like a snake. She did not understand why it chose to loiter around this area, but any chance to get the drop on the most dangerous creature on Remnant, she'd take it.

* * *

><p>Saying is one thing, doing is another. It was another one of Da's favorite (bullshit) idioms, and unfortunately for Yang, it also happened to be the one that rang true for her far too often. Oh, it was easy to slam it on the table and tell a stunned old man that she was going to give Ruby a piece of her own mind. It was a little harder to stay motivated when she headed out of the bar, and the night air cooled her head just enough to realize the full, <em>terrifying<em> consequences of her moment of bravado. When she had walked aimlessly for ten minutes shivering at the thoughts of Ruby skinning her alive and boiling her in a pot, her enthusiasm hit rock bottom when she realized she _didn't even know where Ruby was._ Of course the logical assumption would be the forest, but being a forest the stupid place was stupidly _huge_. Unless she planned to run through the entire place non-stop like an idiot until daybreak, she might as well be praying for a miracle; at least that one's less tiring. _Speaking of a lack of tact, Yang Xiao Long, you're one huge frigging idiot do you know that _hahahaha!_ Not. Funny. At all._

Unfortunately, it was the only way that came to mind, and the blonde had no plans to abandon Ruby to her fate just yet. Partners looked out for each other, and she was going to show it to that selfish girl even if it meant being entombed in a desert and kept alive just long enough to shrivel up like a mummy. Oh, god, she needed to stop imagining. As Yang readied inside her heart grimly for the monumental task, she looked up to suddenly realize that she had accidentally walked herself to the library without noticing. Oh great, what fantastic progress she's making! With a sigh, the blonde turned a hundred and eighty degrees and walked –

"… how awful, that poor – Uek!…"

"… absolutely sure it's not a Grimm? That poor man, he's completely…"

The blonde's footsteps slowed to a halt. Yang looked casually at the small, torch-lit crowd from afar, mildly intrigued and disgusted. That _smell. _She'd spot it in an instant no matter where she went. Judging from the pale faces of the onlookers, she pretty much could guess exactly what had happened here. Yang stretched out her fingers, before curling them into a fist. She never liked these kinds of scenes, and most of the time she chose to walk away as quickly as possible. They raised too many unpleasant memories, such as the day her best friend disappeared, or that god forsaken _Silver Hawk _incident. It was a no brainer for her to walk away right now and save herself the trouble, not to mention that she was in a hurry to help Ruby. She lifted a leg resolutely, and turned towards the other direction.

But for some reason the blonde found herself walking towards the crowd, and before she could change her mind too many had already noticed her, so she had no choice but to press on. What was she thinking? Wasn't one failure more than enough? Perhaps it was the lure of a second chance to make things right; or perhaps it was simply pure guilt driving her body to find any way to redeem herself. Yang shoved them all out of her head. Keep it cool, ask a few questions, and get out. That was all she needed to do.

"Hey there, brother," Yang ran up to the huge back of the closest man, careful to keep her tone hushed and solemn before asking, "What's going on? What happened here?"

"Who are – Hmm? Oh, a fire brand!" _Huh, no one called me that before. Sounds cool though, _"Well, you smell that? Stupid question, cus' you do. Nothing good is what is, kid."

Yang nodded simply, lilac eyes scanning the stark faces of the tiny crowd before turning to look at the scene of the wreckage. It was sobering. The grounds and the walls before the grand library's entrance was riddled with numerous tiny, claw-like scratches. That alone might have been dismissed as vandalism, except that the marks were all black as if tainted, and they reeked of a strange, sulfuric smell that had her pinching her nose. That wasn't all. The door itself – seven feet tall, three feet wide wooden door was completely torn off its hinges and crushed into bits, and its remains were bleached with the same black.

And still that was nothing compared to the thinning, but still overpowering stench of _blood _and _death _pouring out from within the library, and it was so revolting that Yang half-believed that there was a mountain of corpses in there. More than half a dozen people had thrown up their dinner, and Yang was coming pretty close to joining them. This wasn't normal. She wasn't so naïve to think that a human wasn't capable of something like this – or worse, as Yang thought with a silent groan about that one's death – but there was something stranger about this, something inhumane, it's almost… almost like a _Demon _could be involved in this.

Her lilac eyes turned sharp as they narrowed into slits. Black corruption. Could it be?

"I'm sorry to ask this, but how many people passed away in there?"

"Hah! I thought that myself when I first came here too! It's only one man, girl, just one."

"One? You mean this _smell, _all of it is just one body? It stinks worse than a slaughterhouse!"

"Why do you think we haven't move the damned thing yet? They're going back to get one of those special infection suits! Also we searched through the place, and it really is just that one stinking like the high heavens have gone to shit."

"Definitely," Yang replied absentmindedly as her eyes fell onto a specific woman, sniffing tears into her hands just outside of the entrance, "Who's that girl?"

"Huh? That's May, daughter of the Binder family. Everyone knows – oh," the older man's eyes suddenly perked up in suspicion, "You're not from here, aren't you? Would have known that hair anywhere if you are."

"Relax, champ. I'm a travelling Huntress," Yang answered without missing a beat as she snapped a finger and lit a tiny flame on her thumb, startling her companion back a step, "See? My Semblance is different, and I will never in my life do something like that. You with me?"

"Sure, sure. Jus' little surprised, that's all," the old man mumbled a little before stepping back into view, then exclaimed with slight admiration as he looked her up and down and stared especially long at her metallic gauntlets, "But damn, girl. You really _are _a firebrand, aren't you? Not just no magic trick?"

"Nope. Magic tricks are for sissies," the brawler chuckled a little before pointing towards the doorway, "Hey, you think I can get in there, check things out a bit? Swear I won't be trouble."

"You see anyone blocking the way? The cops ain't around yet, and while there's a risk o' infection, I think… Yeah, I think you'll be fine with that fire," the burly man stared into her eyes firmly as if to search for her motives, before nodding surely, "So sure, walk right in. If anyone asks you anything, just tell them Albus let you. They'll know."

"Yang Xiao Long," Yang offered her hand with a smile as they shook lightly, "And likewise. Know Jiu Xu? The city? Next time you're there and some shady dudes wants to harass you, tell them my name and say, _'wo shi da jie de peng you. Chi de zhu de ni men quan bao, bu de zuo guai,'_" she waved a hand and began walking slowly, "They'll listen. I'll know anyway if they don't. Okay, see you!"

"What? That's too long! What does it even mean –"

And she was in.

* * *

><p>Something wasn't right.<p>

The Grimm, born of darkness, were unnatural beings of the world. Unlike all living creatures whose unique strength and signature were defined by the soul, the Grimm were judged by their lack thereof. This was the reason why most Huntsmen and Huntresses – with the appropriate training – were capable of recognizing each other's Aura hundreds of meters apart (although for whatever reason, Yang apparently wasn't taught how to do this), but could be completely ignorant of the Grimm standing right next to them. The most they could do was sense that something was targeting them – something like a killing intent – the fragments of a will long dead. To tell them to sense the Grimm was like asking a color blind to see color – an impossible perception.

But of course, there were always exceptions. Out of a hundred thousand people there would be one person capable of sensing the Grimm's presence, and these unique people were commonly known as Sensors. While the current world did not care much for their ability – the Grimm ceased to be a real threat long enough that people had begun to forget – they were extremely valuable resources to The Order whose sole objective was to track down Demons and wipe their very existence from Remnant. In Ruby's case, she was both a Sensor (albeit a poor one) and a genius combat specialist, and that was one of the greatest reason why she rose through the ranks quicker than almost anyone in The Order's history.

This time however, the young girl was stumped. Up till a minute ago, she had been able to follow a distinctive signature pulsing aimlessly all over the place like a bounced signal, before it came to a sudden stop just fifty meters away from her position. _Shit. _Ruby ceased all movement right then, wondering if she had given herself away while spitting a curse inside her heart. It was a full minute and a half before the Demon started to move again, and Ruby finally let loose an inner sigh of relief – or she would have, if the Demon had not suddenly vanished into nothingness as if it had never existed.

_What the hell?_

Ruby Rose was baffled to say the least. No matter how much she tried to probe out the Demon with her mind, she could not sense even the slightest of disturbance. While her Sensor ability was classified as only a C rank, she should not have missed even the slipperiest of Demons at such a distance. _Shit, it _is exactly _the same as this morning's, _Ruby thought to herself as she disentangled her precious cloak back to normality, _it had to know that I'm here now, so there are only two options; fight or flight. Please don't let that coward be runni –_

* * *

><p>The outer appearance of the library wasn't all that notable, if not <em>depressing <em>as compared to most of the existing ones in Remnant. It was plain, round and grey from the outside, with a golden font of 'In Dust We Trust' carved into the structure. Worse, with exception of the ground floor the entire upper part of the building was windowless, so most people thought the interior to be a hot stew of sweat and generally stayed away as far away as possible.

That was not true, however. Heat and moisture destroys books as easily as caterpillar to leaves, so the library had some of the best air filtration and conditioning system in town. The thick-walled, windowless design was to prevent UV light from entering the building, and the interior of the library was the truly impressive part. While the first floor had hundreds of books lined up in orderly fashion atop rows and rows of wooden bookshelves, thousands others were stacked on higher floors directly inside the space carved _into _the rocks themselves. If someone would stand at the center of the library and look up, they would be staring into a sea of books spiraling towards the top until they almost reach the huge, circular lamp beaming white light from above like the sun. Yang thought it a real shame that it did not have a see through ceiling instead; to lie here amidst stacks of historical tomes with only the moon and stars illuminating this tiny sanctuary was a kind of romance even Ruby could appreciate.

But now this sanctuary was stained. Cursed. Tainted forever by a gruesome death that would never be wiped from memory until the end of this little town.

"… Shit. This one's gonna hang in the nightmares for a while," Yang muttered to herself even as she crouched on one knee to examine the gruesome corpse before her. The front part of the body was completely hollowed out and shredded as if it was _eaten _by something, and the rest of the body was for some reason pulverized flat as a pancake on the ground. She also noticed that the corpse showed similar traits with the wrecked front door, where black roots sank deep into the flesh and blood vessels. Even more unbelievable was how _fast _the body was rotting, and the ungodly stench that could literally knock someone out if they weren't prepared. In short, the only definition for this _leftover mess_ before her would be a _thing_ of _raw meat, blood and bone_, but then she would have to be a vegetarian for the rest of her life, and she was still rather fond of – _geh_, she better stop thinking at all unless she wanted to throw up her beer.

The brawler allowed her gaze to linger just a second longer onto the poor guy before getting back on her feet, mind scrambling a thousand jumbled thoughts together. Despite the lack of time, Yang had made a point to check every room and corridor so that nothing would escape her scrutiny. Moreover, she also talked to a few of the braver townsmen and pieced together a reasonable timeline of events:

1) Around two in the morning, a loud crash from the library and subsequent noises (though no one can say for certain what it is, only that it sounded like a strange animal's howl) woke up a few neighbors, and fifteen to twenty minutes later they went to investigate.

2) They found the library's main entrance knocked down, and a few bold souls readied their weapons and charged in. They found the corpse just before the short staircase leading up to the center tables and scrambled out immediately. This drew even more attention as the people began to gather, but no one else dared to go in until the police came.

3) Police came at ten minutes later, and went in with a few selected townsmen. To put it mildly, they fucked up the crime scene with a few pools of vomit, but still managed a simple check and secured the place. Later they left one Mister Bleu behind as guard and went back for their infection suits. They hadn't made it back… yet.

4) Oh, and there is a birthday cake on top of the aforementioned tables at the first floor. There were no names, and the candles weren't lit.

Yang scratched her head in irritation as she glared at the completely out of place object. Eternally crushed birthday dreams and expectations aside, to say that she was perplexed at the craziness of this case was a severe understatement. So far no one had been able to tell her what the _fuck _was a cake doing in the library (other than the obvious, and that someone had gone to get the night shift librarian to see if he knows anything), and since there was nothing written on it she couldn't even tell who it was for. All it said about the situation was that someone was about to celebrate a birthday, and said someone got screwed _hard _by one blood-_fucking_-thirsty killer. As for why he, she, _it_ came here out of all places, well – maybe it was looking to join in the party? _Hahaha!_

The miffed blonde gazed up towards the ceiling and sighed again: this was no good, she already knew she was no investigator, and she just could not make head or tails of this bizarre murder. On the subject of the murderer though, she did _strongly _suspect that the black fog was the one behind all this, with the black seeped splinters and unbelievable state of the corpse as proof. She supposed that it was still possible for some_one _else to have committed this murder, but the time window was just too short for even a dedicated cannibal to have done this. The culprit _had _to be inhumane, and if it wasn't the Grimm the only monster she knew left very likely was the one who did all of this. Now then, there was just one problem to that theory.

Why come all the way to the center of the town, in a library, to kill just one library guard in the most abominable manner possible and then disappear? To begin with, could a Demon even possess enough _intelligence _to act with such _purpose_ in the first place? She didn't know. For the first time, Yang Xiao Long realized keenly just how naïve and ignorant she was in a world lurking with monsters like these.

But none of it mattered at the moment. The most important thing she learned here was that a Demon was now _in Bamborsa_, and it needed someone to kick its ass to kingdom come. Ruby might have tracked the thing back here, or _shit, _it could even be a second Demon. Regardless, Yang sure as well was not going to just sit around and watch, and one way or another she wasn't resting until she found this abomination and pound it into bits. _I guess that's that, then_, she thought to herself,_ nothing I can do here. Better get out, get murderous, and get after this fucking Demon as soon as possible._

Yang nodded to herself and ran a hand through her hair. With a silent thanks to the townsfolk she started towards the outside, and –

A hand. Before she knew it someone had grabbed onto her wrist firmly, and when Yang looked down she groaned inwards immediately. The weeping woman, Miss May Binder, was looking up to her like she was a lifeline. Of _course _she would hang onto the only woman around who dared stroll around the library. She could guess it was her family who perished in there, and it's not like Yang can't understand her feelings, but she _really _don't have the time for that right now.

"Miss May," Yang began politely, "How can I help you?"

"You're… Yang, right? I heard from Bay," the blonde-haired, petite woman stifled a sob before continuing, "Do you mind… talking with me? A little?"

"Ah – hmm," Yang pondered how she could escape the death grip before continuing, "Sure I can, for a little. But if you don't mind, can we get out of here first before…?"

"Yes, sure," May looked behind Yang and shuddered involuntarily, but she nodded, "But can you, erm, help me to my feet? I can't…"

"Of course. Here, grab on to me."

With an arm around the waist, Yang easily lifted the woman to a standing posture and walked them both out of the library, gesturing at the concerned crowd to give way before stopping at a nearby pavement. The young blonde sucked in a breath of fresh air greedily even as she laid the calming woman to the ground, and said, "Easy there, May. Now, what is it you want to say? I'm, uh, in a little bit of a hurry…"

"I know what happened."

"What?"

"I said, I know what happened," Miss May sucked in a deep breath even as Yang stared at her with incredulity, "Or at least, I think I know. Are you a private investigator? You look different from the others; so calm and so thoughtful. Can you listen to my story?"

"Uh, well," Yang tried to search for the right words to speak, "I'm not actually – _uuuh_, maybe you should talk to the police instead…?"

"You're _clearly_ not from this town," May laughed a little, even though it was trembling all the way to the end, "Those _men_. Business is one thing, but everything else; have you not seen how most women here are treated on the streets? Anyway, back to the point. Everyone in the family knows why Elliot's here, and now that poor Brawn is dead and my brother's shaking in his room quiet as a mouse, and _that girl is missing_. That can only mean –"

"Wait wait wait, stop, too fast too furious!" Yang held up a firm palm and stared directly into the woman's eyes. If she wasn't concentrating before, she was now, "First things first. That guy in there – I thought he's your family? And what's this about your brother?"

"What? Good Remnant, no! I came here just to find out what happened ever since my brother – the _only _librarian here by the way, other than the occasional part time – crashed into the house like a bull," the young woman squirmed a little underneath her intense gaze before continuing, "And well, he – Elliot – _was_ here, to celebrate his birthday with _her_, and look where it'd gotten him. He _really _should have just told everyone the truth."

Yang raised a finger to stop her again, and demanded with a commanding voice, "Still not making any sense. Tell me about yourself, about your brother, this girl, and how it's related to this incident. We're clear? Okay, go!"

And so they talked. The little interrogation continued for half an hour, and Yang had to interrupt more than a few times to keep the daughter from rambling. But finally they ended the little chat and she bid Miss May goodbye, before slumping down alone at the pavement and thought hard for a good fifteen minutes.

Then, she ran.


	9. Devil Wind - Break (II)

**Author's Note: You have been warned that if you have a weak heart, literally and figuratively; or if you have had a violent, traumatic experience, or if you have a too vivid imagination, or if you just detest seeing your beloved characters get really hurt, then please, stay away. This chapter is not for the squeamish. This chapter is not for the, forgive me for saying this, cowardly.**

**This chapter is not even for the righteous, I think.**

* * *

><p>Ever since she was a child, Blake had been an avid thinker and an even more enthusiastic inquirer. Every day she would go out and play, and when she came back she would ask her many, many questions.<p>

"Mama! I saw a _veeery _beautiful flower today. Its pe… petals? Is really bluuue! What's its name?"

"Hmm. Where have you seen it? How does it look like?"

"I saw it at the Fr… _Fuur_ester field! It looks kind off fat and round like a bowl, and there's five _petals _and, and the middle's white!"

"Oh, that's the Baby Blue-Eyes, a kind of flower that usually grows in the wild."

"Baby blue! _Ehehe, _it sounds so pretty! Oh! Don't worry mama, I didn't puck it from the ground, because I promised!"

"It's pluck, dear. But good girl. Remember, if you pull it out, it won't stay pretty for more than a few days or less. But if you let it stay where it blooms, then you can see them for a very long time."

"Of course, mama! Blakey remembers!"

Even then Blake knew her mum was a very smart and knowledgeable person, because she could always answer them with precise and well-constructed explanations. It wasn't just one-sided bombardment either, because her mother would not accept questions that were too vague and ask just as many to clarify certain points. Blake loved this verbal fencing where she could simultaneously satisfy her curiosity and spend time with her mum. She just loved her so much.

* * *

><p>"Go away."<p>

"But… but I just want to…"

"I'm sorry, but my papa won't let me talk to a cursed – to you. I don't like it when he gets angry, so just go."

"Okay…"

That was her fiftieth attempt at making friends, and that was the kindest rejection she had so far. There were so many names; the accursed child, the golden-eyed animal, the _half breed. _At the time she did not yet really understand those words, except that whenever she repeated them her mum's face would cloud up like the thunder and told her never to say them again, so she at least knew that they were really, really bad. The townspeople had no such compulsions though, and they always said them whenever she was around, always made a cross gesture over their chest with eyes filled with strange emotion. She later learned that the word for it was disdain, the opposite of like. Why do they not like her? What did she do wrong?

* * *

><p>"Good <em>god<em>, Cinnamon! Look at those _things _above her head!And you still insist to keep her around? She's a –"

"I'd appreciate it if you don't say that in front of me or my daughter's presence," her mother said in a cool tone she never used with her, as Blake listened from behind the corner of the wall. She was nine years old. Sitting directly opposite to Cinnamon was Blake's grandfather, and unfortunately Blake never really liked him because of his blatantly dislike towards her, even though she shouldn't be because they're family, "And I don't really see what the problem here is. It's just a pair of ears."

"You don't _see the problem? _She has mons – _fine, animal _ears growing on top of her head! What's going to happen next? A claw, a tail, a pair of canine teeth? What about a _fucking mask, huh?"_

"If you want to shout, shout outside. But what you're suggesting is foolishness. I don't need to remind you that a Grimm has no soul, do I?"

"Oh my god, you admitted! After all these years, you finally admitted that you've _fucked a_ –"

"One more word, and this will be painful," Cinnamon growled dangerously, "And the answer's no, you deaf man. I just told you that no Grimm has a soul, and my child is as alive as any of you. _She is not a Grimm_._"_

"Then how are you going to explain her eyes and now her ears? No, don't tell me, I already know you won't tell _shit _about what happened ten years ago. For _your _sake, I can tolerate her fouling our family's reputation or pretend that the kid outside my fence isn't calling me a _traitor of mankind_, but even I _cannot ignore the obvious._ Cinna… the prophecy is coming _true, _Cinna, and I think it's about time you –"

"I see this is going nowhere," her mother closed her eyes looking as if in pain before declaring, "I'll only say this one more time. Fate may not make a man, but a man makes their own fate. If you will let a mere prophecy lead you by its nose to the point you will destroy your own family, then you may as well not be living. Please leave."

"How _dare _you! You know better than _anyone _that the Lost Altar is omni –"

"You know better than to say that name here," Her mum glared daggers at her own father as he realized his error and swallowed the words forcibly, "My opinion has not changed. Now leave, before you force me to chase my own father out of my house."

Her grandfather's face turned deep red, and he almost looked as if he could explode on the spot. But in the end he controlled his anger and nodded grimly,

"Very well. You will defy me to protect a _monster_. Very _well._ From today onwards, I will cut all ties with you. From now on you are no longer a Brave. Live and regret your decision forever until the end of your life, Cinnamon!"

"I forgot to tell you," her mum sipped from her cup calmly before replying, "But I have always been a Belladonna."

The old man spat on the ground spitefully and stalked away. Blake waited until she was sure he was gone, and walked into the living room timidly. The moment her mum spotted her and gave her a warm smile, Blake rushed in immediately into her embrace. It was a long time before she raised a tiny voice,

"Mama… Am I…?"

"No," Her mum said firmly, and pulled at her gently so she would look her in the eyes. Then, with a tone of absolute conviction and certainty, she said, "Remember this well, Blake. No matter what other people says, no matter what they think, you will always be my daughter. You will always be Blake Belladonna. You will always be _**just a monster.**_"

* * *

><p>She jolted awake. Clammy neck, left eye twitching, and her breathing ragged with the last vestiges of panic. Everywhere she looked it was dark as sin, except for the faint light seeping through the outline of the door. What happened? A dream. A nightmare. What was it about again? Even her cat doll had crumpled completely within her embrace. She couldn't remember. She needed a drink. She wanted to see her mama.<p>

Blake climbed down her bed, and went out of the room. For some reason, the corridor felt much longer than usual. The wooden planks underneath her feet creaked with every step, and the cool air felt unnaturally stiff. It was choking. She walked faster, trying to ignore the lingering chill seeping inside her heart until she sighed in relief upon spotting the sliding door. She pulled it open, and –

– Screeched to a halt. She couldn't quite believe her eyes, and rubbed it just to be doubly sure. For some reason, the living room was completely packed with children from all around the neighborhood, and they sat so still that Blake almost mistook them for many little statues. She flinched when she recognized at least a dozen of faces being the ones who had bullied her, although since she learned her own unusual strength and defended herself they hadn't dared to touch her again. But the _evil_ _lies _they spread about her _everywhere_, she could not stop them, just as she could not stop the strange fact that people just accepted those lies blindly and hated her even more. Blake was _terrified. _Why were they in here? This was her home, her one safe place, her sanctuary. They can't _possibly _hurt her here, they just –

"_Hii…!"_

She squeaked, and nearly fell on her feet. All at once the _heads _turned in unison towards her with eyes as _dead as a fish's_, and Blake just could not stop herself from trembling like a leaf. When a pair of coldhands suddenly clamped down on her shoulders the young girl very nearly screamed,

"Dear, what are you doing?"

"Mama…!"

Without hesitation, Blake buried her face beneath her mother's bosom and hugged her as tightly as she could. Gentle as usual, her mum took her time to half carry her all the way towards the living room before sitting down on her favorite oak chair, and shook Blake's shoulders a little. The young girl reluctantly budged herself from the embrace and immediately ran to hide behind her protector. She peeked an eye out to the open – shrank back immediately when she noticed that they were _still staring at her _– and asked,

"Mama? What are they doing here? Can you ask them to leave?"

Her mother's reply however, was completely unexpected, "Ah, sorry, Blake. You see, I'm the one who actually invited them here," The middle-aged woman looked down to shower Blake with a reassuring smile, "I know what they did to you, dear. And I want them to… apologize."

Blake couldn't quite believe her ears. Them? _Apologize? _That would have been a wonderful thing, except that the young girl wasn't so naïve to know that it would be halfhearted at best, and the days after this would definitely be just as bad. Besides, there was something wrong with the picture. Something she couldn't quite put a hand on. She said timidly,

"It's okay, mama, I don't mind. I just want them to leave."

"Oh, don't you worry sweetie, they will definitely leave afterwards. But for _now!_" suddenly her voice raised an octane, and Blake shrieked as her mum suddenly rose like a giant and hauled a body out of the midst. It was the kid she was most afraid in the entire village, Burnie – _How did…? I thought he was sitting at the center _– and dumped him directly in front of the floor. The usually hateful kid was a pathetic mess as he bawled out loud at the pain, only for her mum to _slap him _into silence again. She had _never _seen her hit someone. Blake could only watch in shock as her mother uttered as if she was spitting poison,

"Burnie Acolyte, _child _leader of the group who tried to drown my daughter in the river. Do you think I won't _know, _Burnie? Do you think I will just let you _off? _Have the _sensei _never taught you the saying _a life for a life?_"

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it, I –"

_Crack. _There was a sickening crack, the scattering of teeth and blood across the air before the red-haired boy fell to the ground with a crying howl. Blake couldn't breathe. All she could do was to watch as her mum kicked the poor boy in the _face _and the _stomach _and the _ribs again and again _while _screaming like a banshee,_

"SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_"I'm sorry!" _**Crack!**_"SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "I'm sor –" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "So… ww…" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "_So… sooaaaa_ –" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" "…" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "SAY SORRY!" _**Crack!**_ "SAY _SORRY!"_

Finally her mother stopped, but the boy that was Burnie was long gone. His face was an unrecognizable pulp of purple and red, and his limbs were all twisted and mangled in impossible directions. She thought she could see something reddish pink dripping out of the boy's broken skull, but her brain couldn't really comprehend – _ah, that's right, the word is brain _– what was going on before her. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream.

"I guess that's acceptable," her mum wiped the splattered blood splattered across her face only to make it worse, before turning to look at Blake – she literally jumped as the gaze penetrated as if digging into her bones – and said coolly, "Now kill him."

"_Mama?" _Blake choked at the outburst and gagged, and it only grew worse as the tang of blood inevitably slipped inside her nose and mouth so thick _she could taste it_.

"You and I both know that he's going to hurt you again tomorrow. But if he dies now, then his apology won't be halfhearted. We can even pretend that it's sincere," she waved her bloody hands at the rest of the frozen children, "C'mon now, we still have a lot to go through. By the end of the day, everyone will have apologized from the bottom of their hearts, and you will never be hurt again!"

Blake wanted to shake her head, wanted nothing more but to run away from this madness. But suddenly she tripped her feet, and before she knew it she was stumbling forwards right _towards Burnie_. Her mama was _singing_, "Smart girl! Just stab him in the eye, and it'll all be over!"

A knife? She stared openmouthed at the murder weapon clasped tightly within her right hand. When did it get there? Where did it even come from? She couldn't stop herself, she was going to fall right on top of Burnie and stab him right in the eye, and all she could do was squeak "No, no, no, NO, _NO –_"

* * *

><p>She jolted awake. Clammy neck, left eye twitching, and her breathing ragged with the last vestiges of panic. Everywhere she looked it was dark as sin, except for the faint light seeping through the outline of the door. What happened? A dream. A nightmare. What was it about again? Even her cat doll had crumpled completely within her embrace. She couldn't remember. She needed a drink. She wanted to see her mama.<p>

Blake climbed down her bed, and went out of the room. For some reason, the corridor felt much longer than usual. The wooden planks underneath her feet creaked with every step, and the cool air felt unnaturally stiff. It was choking. She walked faster, trying to ignore the lingering chill seeping inside her heart until she sighed in relief upon spotting the sliding door. But all the sudden her arching hands froze in mid-air, and the closer they were towards the handle the worse the shivering got. Why? What's wrong? Her heart thumped hard and fast against her chest, and there was a strange dizziness plaguing her head the closer she got to the door. It's almost as if something was _stopping_ her from going inside. She didn't like it. She wanted them to stop.

Blake backed away from the door, and instantly the symptoms subsided until they were barely noticeable. Her breathing was still a little fast though, and she couldn't help but think of mama. Maybe she would find her in her room. With that thought, little Blake passed by the living room and headed towards the next room on the opposite side, and knocked on the door.

"Mama! Are you inside?"

"Ah, good timing. Do come in girl, I have something I want you to try."

Happily, she turned the doorknob and walked right in. Almost immediately she was greeted by a strange smell brushing past her nostrils, and although it felt somewhat familiar Blake could not identify what it was. The young girl decided to forget about it and walked towards her mother, who was apparently sewing something on the bed that she couldn't see from her angle. Her mama gestured for Blake to come with a pat on the soft mattress and smiled gently,

"Can't sleep?"

"Mm hmm," Blake shook her head. She didn't want her mama to worry.

"Well then, close your eyes and turn around. This ought to make you happy."

Blake shut her eyelids tight and waiting with brimming anticipation. This was a normal ritual for as long as she could remember. Her mum would spend a few months sewing a new dress, and when she was done she would call her over to try it out. She had never failed to surprise her. She couldn't wait to see what mama had in store this time.

"Okay, don't move, I'm going to put it on you right now."

The first thing she noticed was that the smell suddenly thickened, a mix of her mama's usual lemonade perfume and something far, far denser hidden beneath the thin veil. But before she could wonder any further she felt _it _sliding over her head and down her body, and the smell was so thick now that she nearly vomited. That was hardly her concern though, for the fabric covering her was unlike anything she had felt before. It was _wet_ and _sticky_. As it slid over her mouth and she tipped out an unconscious tongue, the overwhelming stench nearly sent her into convulsing fits as she strived not to _spit _on her mama's hard worked clothes, and swallowed it down. _What _is _this thing? _She pinched her lips tightly and dared not breathe. The torturous moment seemed to take forever until finally her head popped through the sleeve, and Blake sucked in a deep breath at the release – only to gag and cough unceremoniously as the _stink _drove all the way into her lungs.

"What's wrong?" Her mama patted her on the back gently, and Blake felt just slightly more comfortable even though the smell was just as bad, "Okay, now turn a little, and… open your eyes!"

She wanted to be happy, really. She wanted to be surprised by her mum's ingenuity and really squeal in delight. Instead, the only thing that clawed out of her throat was a screech of utter terror even before her mind could understand the _abomination _that was staring at her through the mirror. It was a pale pink, parched red _abomination clinging to her body so tightly _it's as if it would swallow her whole. What _was _that? What the hell _was _this hairy thing at the center of the clothes? It's almost like –

It's almost like she was wearing a _human skin for her dress._

"Doesn't it look pretty? This is one hundred percent human skin, mind you, and try venture a guess who's the donor of this suit."

"Ah… hagh!… _ah…_"

"Hmm? You usually can answer me without a problem. Never mind, I'll make an exception this time. Come here," Without even questioning her will, her mama simply pulled her to the huge clothes trunk beside the closet. Her mum said softly from behind her,

"Open it."

She shook her head vigorously. She was just a step away from passing out into oblivion, and her mind could barely comprehend her mama's words, but still she had a _very _bad feeling about this, and did not even want to go anywhere near it, "I don't want to mama, please –"

"Open it."

"But mama, I – !"

"_Open it."_

It wasn't much of a difference, really. Just a slight shift in the tone, a dip in the mood. But it's as if the air inside the room had turned into ice, and the _colder still hands _clamping down on her shoulders were so strong _it hurts. _For the first time, Blake wondered if the person behind her was really her mama. It was a foolish thought. Didn't she just saw her smile a minute ago? Didn't she pat her back as gently as ever whenever she coughed? Of course it's mama. She had to trust her. This must be just some kind of joke that would all turn out well in the end. She just had to hang on. She just needed to open the trunk.

_She didn't dare to look up._

She raised a clammy hand, and pressed down shakily against the number lock. Her fingers fumbled with it clumsily, almost panically when she thought her mama might get angry, but the figure behind her never even moved. Mute. Utterly quiet. It was almost as if she's – No, no. _Focus. _Finally she got the numbers right, and with a little tug the lock came apart, and all that's left was pushing the cover open. Her tiny arms strained to lift the heavy oak upwards, but she had always been strong, and –

_Thump! _The trunk fell shut, and Blake's breathing reached a new level of frequency. She thought she saw something – no she _saw something_. Something her mind was refusing to comprehend, something that caused all the energy within her arms to fleet away until there's nothing left. Between the _skin _clinging onto her skin and the sheer abnormality threatening to choke the last vestiges of her consciousness, she just couldn't take it anymore. Before she knew it she was sniffling uncontrollably and her eyes were brimming in tears,

"Mama, mama I _can't, _I can't do it I _can't please! Uuuuaaahhh! Hik!"_

She cried. She cried for a long time. Suddenly the painful hold onto her shoulders softened, and transformed back to the gentle pat she was so familiar with. When her mama spoke again, it was no longer that blood curdling voice,

"I'm sorry; I guess this is a bit too hard for you, is it?"

"Un! Un!" Blake nodded vigorously with indescribable gladness in her heart. Finally her mama was seeing sense. Finally her mama understood her. Finally her mama was back to –

"I guess I'll just have to open it for you then."

It happened so quickly, she had no time to react. She raised half a hand forwards, mouth agape and eyes wide trying to stop her mama instinctively from opening the taboo. Instead, she found herself coming face to face with a bloody head, its mouth as wide as a maw and white, rotten eyes hanging by a thread from its sockets. The wet stench of blood and iron flushed out like a sauna's vapor as they drilled into her nose, forced open her jaws, and sank all the way down to her toes. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't –

She felt something clenching on her wrist. She looked down. It was a melting arm of rotting flesh and protruding bones, and it made a _sucking _sound – _oh god, it can't be alive, it can't be – _that she never wanted to hear again in her life. Against all instincts, she sucked in a gagging breath, and tried to scream.

Then, it pulled her in.

* * *

><p>She jolted awake. Clammy neck, left eye twitching, and her breathing ragged with the last vestiges of panic. Everywhere she looked it was dark as sin, except for the faint light seeping through the outline of the door. What happened? A dream. A nightmare. What was it about again? Even her cat doll had crumpled completely within her embrace. She couldn't remember. She needed a drink. She –<p>

She didn't want to see her mama. She didn't even want to go outside. Blake didn't understand any of it at all, but just the thought made every cell in her body scream with unbridled terror. She could not stop trembling. She had never felt so _cold. _All she wanted to do right now was to hide inside her blanket and stay there forever.

"_Aaahh…"_

She pretended she didn't hear it. She pretended that she was dreaming. She pretended that it wasn't her mother's voice coming from _outside the door._

"_Aaaaahhh... Aaahhh… AAAaahh…"_

The voice-that-did-not-exist started low and weak, and it persisted in a bizarre rhythm of ups and lows that was more than enough to cover her ears with the pillow. And then it grew louder. Stronger. It soon turned into throaty shrills that pierced through her heart again and again like swords, _and still the damn noise just would not stop. _And so Blake wept. Not even plugging all four ears with her fingers could deafen the moans, so the only way to stop it was to drown it with her own cries. The shriller the moans were, the louder she cried. The lower the voice went, so too did her own so she could conserve some energy. It was the longest night she ever experienced in her life. It was the worst nightmare she ever had dreamed of since she was born.

_Plick. Plack._

At first she didn't notice it because of her own weeping, but she finally picked up the anomaly when it grew louder and more frequent. It was also then she noticed that the unearthly moans had stopped since god-knows-when, and just for that one second she allowed herself and heartfelt sigh of relief. For some reason she was feeling hot, even though her arms and feet were as cold as ever. Slowly she unbound the blankets – twitching every few seconds at the stinging loss of its protection – and placed a trembling foot onto the carpet floor. As the strange noise grew louder so did her unease, but Blake didn't dare venture beyond the door for fear of the unknown that lied outside. It wasn't until a few minutes she sat like that until she frowned deep at the unusual temperature of her room that just seemed to be climbing with no end in sight. The crackling noise was even more distracting, as she couldn't how but recall exactly how similar it was the sound of fire bu –

_A fire. A _fire. _Our house in on fire!_

A shrill scream pierced through the air, and its very resonance shocked Blake down to her core. It was completely different from the ghastly moans before, and before Blake knew it she had charged out of her room, only to be shell-shocked again to come face to face with a flame lit corridor. Everything was burning. Even the walls had black and gray smoke seeping out of its cracks. In a few minutes more – perhaps even seconds – the passage would become utterly impassable, and she would be trapped inside her own room and eventually be burned into black crisp. That wasn't her main concern however – her mum. What happened to her mum!?

Without the slightest care for the flames licking close to her skin, Blake ran across the corridor until she skidded to a stop in front of the sliding door. Her hand trembled as she brought it close to the handle, but she resolutely pushed it open and found that the living room was completely empty. The main entrance was wide open though; had her mum escaped outside already? Her hope extinguished just as quickly as it was ignited when she thought of the possibility that her mum had left her to die, but she shook away the disgusting thought and ran again. She hadn't checked all the rooms yet; she had to be sure. The search did not take long at all; the toilet, the kitchen, the store room were all completely empty. Finally she stopped in front of her mum's sleeping room, and again she had to suppress a worse shudder coursing through her veins. _Don't be stupid, _Blake told herself angrily, _it's a nightmare. It's a fucking nightmare you don't even remember. Mother needs me!_

She twisted the doorknob, and pulled it wide open. She saw –

"Take this, you fucking SHIT! How's that for shaming me, huh? Think you're so great?" _Pap. Pap. Pap. Pap._

"Aw man, you're totally crazy! She's your daughter!"

"And then what? I tried to save her from that demon child, but all I got is a spit to the face. Thank god I've broken all ties with her then, since the only thing – _Pap _– I'm – _pap _– punishing – _pap _– now – _pap _– is – _PAP _– a _– PAP _– stupid – _PAP _– _whore!_"

_No._

She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't care for anything but the unholy unison unfolding before her; a pair of naked bodies tangling with each other as one laid completely unmoving and the other rocking his waist like his life depended on it. The other men surrounded the duo with dark chuckles as they had their backs against Blake, and they too were completely stripped of any clothing.

_No._

"Hey – hey wait a second, look at her eyes. Is she…? Oh god, she's dead!"

_No…_

"Shit man! I wanted her to scream for her daughter like just now so I can get off! Why the fuck did you have to kill her!?"

"_Ahh… uaaHhHh..."_

"Who cares about that!? I hope you didn't forget that she bore a _demon_, you idiots, a _demon! _Serves her right that she _dies!_ Now," suddenly the evil man heaved the limp body beneath him forwards, and as Blake came face to face with her mother's glassy eyes, he wrenched open her mother's jaw with an audible snap and sneered monstrously,

"Are you guys going for another round, or what? Since she's dead, it's very important that she gets to rest in _piss,_ you know? _Piss?_ _Ahahahahahaha!_"

**"UUUUUUWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH_HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

* * *

><p><em>Eh?<em>

She blinked. Bright current shone directly into her eyes, and she had to squint and turn away before they would adjust. Where was she? Her head swayed like a rocking boat, and her throat felt raw and painful. She had been screaming. A nightmare. There was the edge of a memory poking at her consciousness, but she consciously shoved them away and refused to ponder about it any longer. At least the marble floor touched both cool and solid. At least she felt pain as she pressed a fingernail deep into her skin. She was was… _awake._

Blake looked around slowly, her neck rotating stiffly to her left, then her right. She was in a familiar place. She was in the library. In Dust We Trust; such a comforting name to remember. She saw the center tables of the first floor. A half-cut chocolate cake with unlit pink candles staked atop its soft cream. She… remembered. She promised Elliot to celebrate his birthday on Sunday… night. But for the life of her, she could not remember how she came to be here. She could not even remember _last night. _All she remembered was leaving the construction site, and, and taking a shower and… _GAagh._ Blake balled a fist to her forehead and moaned. Why was it h_urting_ so much?

"… !"

The voice was slight and tightly muffled, but Blake heard it all the same. Suppressing her discomfort, the young woman turned around to see a green-robed boy – _Elliot! _– huddled up at a corner with only his eyes peeking out of his elbow. Blake frowned a little: was that _sheer panic _she saw lurking within that pair of blue orbs?

"El… liot?"

She tried to speak, suddenly finding her tongue clumsy and foreign. She saw his shoulders jerked once, and it was then she realized that the young man's toes wriggling frantically against the floor and moving _away _from her. She didn't like that. Again she asked, this time more fluently and comfortable, "Elliot. Are you… okay?"

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"St – _stay away!_"

_Tap._

A shriek. She wanted to go to his side, but the sheer terror in his voice stopped her dead in her tracks. Her breathing quickened, and before she knew it cold sweat clung everywhere on her skin. What was it? What's wrong? Why was she feeling as if everything in her world had been turned upside down? She needed to get out of here. The library was supposed to be her second home, her sanctuary, but for some reason her heart was literally screaming for her to _run away _as fast as possible.

_Tap. Tap tap._

But not without Elliot. Forcing her heart to steady, she approached her friend with a familiar hand raised and said softly, "Come on, Elliot. Let's get out of here."

But contrary to her expectations, Elliot suddenly turned furious and leaped to his feet, "No, _no! _How _dare _you imitate her! Just kill me and be done with it, but don't you dare _pretend to be her, you monster!_"

Blake froze. _What did he just call me?_ Tears streamed down her friend's cheek like a fountain, and his eyes were glaring with such pure _fury _that it threatened to puncture her own heart. Her throat felt restricted; each breath felt like she was breathing through a narrow straw. Why was Elliot looking at her like an enemy? Why was he acting like he didn't even know her? Why –

It was then she realized something amiss. She was too distraught to notice at the beginning, but her outstretched hand – in fact, both of her hands – felt sticky and wet, and it was not the cold sweat that drenched every part of her body. Even when she put it under the glaring white light, she could not discern exactly even the color of the strange, sticky liquid, because her skin was completely black. _That can't be right._ Suddenly Blake frowned at something even stranger: Were her hands always this big? Everything seemed so natural until a second ago, but her arms were somehow a monstrous length of at least two meters. When the young woman narrowed her eyes on her palm, she recoiled in shock to see what should be her nails were sharp, gleaming talons of unnatural gray. Her legs too were the same. And then there was this unnatural elevation of her sight – _my height, _Blake realized with a start, _I'm taller than I should._ _What is this? Just what the _fuck _is…?_

She caught sight of something at the corner of her eyes. Something red. As if drawn by irresistible magnet, Blake turned her head around to see exactly what was bothering her so badly about the strange sight. At first, she could not make head to toes about the thing. There was so much red, red everywhere. But then her sharp eyesight started picking shapes out of the jumbled mess, and she spotted a twisted arm. A shredded leg. Teeth. Lolling tongue. A hole. A rotting hole where the chest should have been –

_Is that… Brawn?_

She vomited. It was the only possible reaction she could muster in that situation. An ungodly amount of filth poured out of her mouth. That was hadn't eaten anything since the night she put everything on the line to stop the Grimm – _ah, I remember that, I remember that now, but what happens next? What –_ but somehow there were choking, _rotting mesh of flesh and juice so terrible _she could not help but heave harder than she ever did in her life. _Aha. AHahaha. Tell me I'm dreaming. Tell me I'm still dreaming._ The holes in her memories were still there, but there was one really simple explanation to this horror. Seven years ago, she remembered seeing a column of smoke. A thick, black, ugly thing that had her running back to heeeerrr_RRRRRRrRr HOoOom _– no, no. Her room. That's right. She ran out of her room, ran all over her _burning house_ and found those hateful villagers. She remembered the loathsome sneers, the near crazed grins, the utterly disfigured, naked _body_ that was her poor, poor mother. She remembered screaming. She remembered losing control.

"… Ha. Hahaha_HA_. What a tale. All that, and I felt at peace. _Hihihi. _All that, and I was happy. All that, and _I forget. _**HAHAHAHA_HAHAHAHAHA!_**"

Blake rose to her feet unsteadily and stared at the black smoke rippling along the outlines of her body, lips barely quelling the rumble of hysterical laughter. But of course. How else could she explain living with a ball-sized hole in her body? Yes, she remembered now. She remembered _everything. _Her mind tried to play tricks and pretended that everything was okay, but no paper could not cover up fire, just as she could _never hide away from the truth. _No matter. It was over. _Ah, yes, _it was fun while it lasted. But her life, her dreams, her happiness, even her own identity; all of it, they were gone, just like that. Forever.

"Go."

"Huh…?"

"Go, before I change my mind. You don't want me to _eAt YoU HihaAHa _like poor Brawn now, do you?" Blake addressed while curling a cruel smile at her lips. At the mention of his fallen friend Elliot raised a puny fist furiously, but it only took one intimidating step to shock him right back to reality. _Tap. _When she took another, the young man all but scrambled towards the exit with lightning speed and disappeared. Blake Belladonna listened until she was sure that he was gone. This was it, then.

Finally, she could do what she always thought to do in the past, but failed due to her own cowardice.

Finally, she could end this thorny path that had shredded her so thin, so weary, so hopeless.

Finally, she could die.


	10. Devil Wind - Death

**Author's Note: And so we've finally reached this point. Two more chapters to go, now.**

* * *

><p>"– Tch!"<p>

Ruby barrel-rolled off the roof just in time, as a sudden claw emerged out of nowhere to almost puncture her spine. The young warrior landed neatly on both feet before propelling herself towards a nearby cover, gun already trained towards her previous spot to fire three shots into empty air. Ruby's eyes narrowed as she morphed Crescent Rose into its second mode immediately. Was it her imagination playing tricks? It can't be; the atmosphere was so thick with murderous intent a second ago that only a dead man could be oblivious to it. She quickly came to the conclusion that the Demon must either be invisible, formless, or so quick that even her eyes could not catch its figure. Neither type made it in her favorite list of enemies, and the cold sweat forming underneath her palm only served to reinforce the notion.

The shadow struck. Had she not encountered the strange fog from this morning, she would not have noticed the pools of darkness gathering directly beneath her before shooting out in a spray of deadly shards. With uncanny agility Ruby danced and sidestepped and dodged the endless shots with Crescent Rose occasionally parrying away at the impossible before diving straight into the open for more light, but just seconds into the ambush she decided that the usual modus operandi would not work against this enemy. She winced at the various cuts and bruises she accumulated just during that short window of assault: The anticipation of her reactions, the accuracy of the shots, the cunningness that nearly had skewered by her own shadow and just about _everything _were at a complete different class as compared to before.

Being a creature of darkness she had expected this shadow to be unusually strong during the night, but this performance might as well negate completely the critical damage she dealt to it this afternoon! She thought fast. A change was needed; one that would undermine her opponent's advantage and boost her own, one that would even the playing field and end this embarrassingly one-sided pummel as soon as possible. A change of time was obviously impossible even though it would have been the most effective, but she could… change… the _battlefield._

Ruby ran. Unlike some of her more prideful ex-colleagues, she – well, most of the time, probably – was not one to let arrogance overcome survival instinct. At this point the former Executioner was almost one hundred percent certain that this was the being that created the black fog phenomenon, and the dark and narrow alley she was in gave her enemy near infinite angles to ambush with. Without hesitation, Ruby ran at full speed towards the nearest cross road, but kept from using her Semblance in case her enemy could not keep up and chose to run away instead.

But it was pointless worry. Suddenly she crashed towards the ground with a resounding thud, and it took Ruby half a second to process that a pair of black coils had gripped firmly onto her ankles. Then the searing pain stalled yet another half before she finally reacted with a clean swipe-and-leap into the air, but by then it was already too late. Ruby landed roughly atop a moon lit roof, nearly collapsing as she leaned heavily against Crescent Rose for support and cursed. The young girl glared down at her ankles and to find them seared and blackened, and worse, she could feel a strange chill spreading out from her wound, eating away at her strength like a greedy leech.

This was bad. This was really bad. Even as she jumped again from roof to roof trying to escape the relentless assault, Ruby wasted no time to fish out two pouches of common Dust and sprinkle them over the wounds. The pain was downright unholy as the two opposing substances did battle against each other, but thank goodness that the corruption seeping away at her flesh had stopped. The young girl understood keenly that she was going to fight this without her usual mobility, and adding that to this morning's injury the young girl suddenly found the tables completely turned, that the hunter had suddenly become the hunted. She was not at a hundred percent to begin with, and if this trend of injuries kept up she might find herself too hurt and too weary to even escape, much less achieving victory.

But she would have to endure. As the apprentice of one of the greatest Guardian in history, defeat at a Demon's hand was simply out of question.

* * *

><p>She hated her.<p>

It was not as if the young Huntress' actions were unjustified. Had the little girl not interfered, she most likely would have succumbed to the _thing_ anyway, and there wasn't anyone in Bamborsa that could stop it from rampaging. Walls and barricades meant nothing to her inner monster, and the only thing that could harm it was light, Dust, and Aura. The outcome would have been hell. Therefore she agreed that the shot was necessary. She agreed that any other alternatives were too dangerous, and that was their best chance of survival. She would even concede that had she been in the Huntress' position, she too would take the same shot without a second thought.

And yet Blake hated the Huntress still. She hated her _so, much. _Blake hated red riding hood for taking the fatal shot, thus robbing her of her dreams, her life, even that tiny chance she might have at regaining her humanity. Blake hated her sloppiness, for if the Huntress had bothered confirming her kill, she would never have fallen into such a horrifying state of limbo; a half man-and-monster stuck in this equal mockery of a body. She even hated her for not stopping the monster in time from roaming all the way into the town, for if she did she would never have killed an innocent man, would never have come so close – _too close _– to murdering her own _best friend_.

Who cares if the young girl was actually an innocent in this laughable farce? Who cares if she was just being a child trying to pin all the blame of this terrifying misery on a guiltless person? _She too was an innocent, _and look where she was now. There would be no stopping this fountain of bitterness bursting from inside her heart. She needed an outlet. She needed to _vent_. She needed to find someone, _anyone _to just fling all of her hatred at, to strangle and crush and rip and _kill _–

And so Blake hid among the shadows, quiet as the dead as she conjured upon countless shapes of pure nightmare to assault her fleeing enemy. There would be no hesitation. No foolish dreams of miracles. Blake was the monster of fairy tales, and she the sworn protector of humanity. Between the monster and the human, only one would survive, and no matter what the outcome was Blake Belladonna intended to perform her role to the utmost, and see things through until the very end.

_So please, kill me and end this once and for all…_

* * *

><p>If there was one thing Ruby could say about the Demon, it would be that it was a local. To begin with, it could not have possibly known to corner her into that particular alley too narrow to dodge, or force her through that odd door that just happened to be riddled with nails on the other side, or even force-trip her at that one lousy ramp which was hollow at the center. Unless dear Demon happened to have an army of angels whispering into its ears, it was too much of a coincidence to be just pure luck at the right place at the right time. Only three minutes into the escape she had already accumulated so many wounds – a cut here, a gash there; and shallow as they were she immediately treated them with a spray of Dust although it slowed her down even more – and along with that, a mounting rage that could find no outlet. When Ruby had finally reached her chosen battlefield, the young Executioner was pissed enough to burn the entire town to the ground.<p>

"Thank you for all that you've done! Now kindly allow me to _return the favor!_" Growling un-ladylike, Ruby wasted no time in sweeping Crescent Rose into a wide arc and destroyed the onslaught of blackish nightmares coming at her way instantly. Unlike before, the shadows were now constrained by the streetlight's illuminating presence, and Ruby could better predict the next strike with fewer shadows around. And of course, if the Demon tries to strike from beneath Ruby's own shadow –

_Whump! _Before the black nightmares could even rose a few centimeters, Ruby flung towards the ground around her a few specially customized Dust grenades she prepared specifically for this situation, and the world instantly exploded into shimmering clouds of Dust coating the entire world. Soon, the entire asphalt crossroad was glistening with blue Dust, and the nightmarish shadows could barely pierce through the thick clouds, much less latching onto any surface layered with the substance. Ruby grinned as she smashed the tail end of her scythe at the floor and declared loudly, "Why don't you come out and play now, little _girl? _Those pitiful sneak attacks of yours are getting _boring._"

The slithering darkness suddenly shook, halting in its tracks. Ruby was already surprised to find her taunts working – they _never _work unless it involved smacking away half their faces – but that shock was multiplied when she suddenly realized she was addressing the Demon as a _she_. It must have been a flawed afterthought; not to mention utterly pointless in this battle, and yet her instincts were one of a kind, and there was something obviously different about this creature – the _purposefulness _behind every action, the clear intelligence of its attacks, even the unusual deviousness in employing the environment to set cunning traps. _Sentience_. As far as she remembered only an Ancient or Legendary class Demon possessed that, and since she hadn't been ripped yet…

"You," A disbelieving gasp creaked over her face, "I don't believe it, but you're a _mix_, aren't you? A _crossbreed_."

Even as the words poured out of her mouth the rising shadows had come to a complete still in mid-air, further reinforcing her confidence as she continued with a tingle of pure disbelief, "I don't believe it. Sure I've heard rumors, but I always thought they are total bullshit concocted by crazy zealots. But to think that it's possible for a Demon and a human to have _children_… but _how_? Possession maybe; some form of strange infection that targets the unborn child?"

Ruby Rose loathed Demons. Ever since her Master killed was the young girl literally dedicated every waking second of her life into hunting the murderers down. But before the tragedy happened, she had always harbored a fascination towards the Grimm; a simple, innocent curiosity towards the strange and wild beings that had literally shaped mankind's way of life. It was the same, now. For just an instant, Ruby Rose forgot about her original purpose and acted like a child appropriate of her age. She even forgot her guard and walked closer towards the closest floating darkness, with her scythe facing her back and her eyes wide with curiosity. The strings behind the shadows seemed utterly confused by the reaction, as it simply allowed her to walk past its appendages without any resistance. The young girl stopped at a particular pool of darkness attached to a household's wall and watched it shivered involuntarily against its own will. _This is cute, _Ruby thought, _I can almost believe that she – _it – _is human._

With careful aim, she sank her scythe deep into the pool and felt it connect. Then, firing her rifle a few times just to be sure, Ruby Rose waited, and smiled when the screams began.

* * *

><p>The pain was unimaginable. Words could not describe pain of holy hellfire feasting gleefully on her corrupted flesh, and then there was the familiar taste of betrayal dancing at the tip of her tongue; ever present and never fading, mocking at her stupidity again and again until her very soul was ground down to dust. It was a miracle that she was still intact. It was a miracle Blake Belladonna still existed. She would be lying if she said she hadn't expected this. The young girl mixed the perfect blend between acting and truthfulness, but she had fallen for the same tricks too many times not to recognize it for what it was. How could she still let this happen then? Was the young girl really so convincing with her innocent outlook, or was she hypnotized by some power she did not know?<p>

And yet deep down, she knew. Her monster half might be able to withstand the end of the world, but the human her could not even stand the lack of company. The most devious Player in Bamborsa was rather be fooled than lose a dear friend, and her temporary life at Bamborsa – dreamlike, fleeting, _happy _– had set that sentimentality running completely out of her control. Blake wanted to be recognized. Blake yearned to be treated as an equal. Above all, she wanted to be seen as _human_, to be _loved _as _human_, and for once in her life, actually love _herself _for what she was. In Bamborsa, many of these impossible dreams had actually come true. Given a little more time, she probably could love herself. Beyond that, she might even be able to finally let go of her fears and even love someone else.

_Yes… it was a wonderful dream._

She unfurled her hand to stretch the fingers, before fastening a hold onto the crimson head of the offending weapon. It was slick, tough, and coated with a layer of Red Dust that sizzled away at her skin even though she was barely touching it. No wonder it had managed to pierce through the shroud of darkness so easily. No matter. The attack had nearly killed her, but it also presented with it a wondrous opportunity. As she tightened her grip Blake on the metal she felt only little resistance, and before her enemy became aware the woman forcefully _ripped _the entire blade out _through her waist_. Even as she cried out with unbridled agony the woman too _relished _with unholy joy. Finally, she was _freed _from own her weak flesh and blood. Finally,she was _unleashed_ from the final chains of her humanity.

For too long she had lived within a prison of fear and malice, chained by no one but the literal curse of her own blood. _No more. _As her flesh and bone reknitted quickly as if time rewinding, Blake hauled herself out of the dimension of oblivion – the world of color emerging back into view along with the Huntress's alarmed expression – and casually tossed the red scythe back to its user. Already she was regenerated, but Blake still took the time to glance over herself and admire every pore of it. Whatever disfigurements or monstrous limbs due she had before were completely corrected, and to the normal eyes she looked every bit the usual human Blake down to the very last cell. And yet something was different. Something was _obviously unnatural. _The black-clad, red cloaked girl apparently sensed it as _clear as night_ as she hissed with unbridled menace,

"I can _feel _you! You're… _more _than you should be! _How?_"

"Does it matter?" Blake answered lightly, while brushing a hand across her bow. She did not fully comprehend the logic, but even her clothes seemed to have regenerated, looking good as new and showing no signs of damage whatsoever. Convenient, "You are the human, and I am the monster. There can only be one ending."

"I'll kill you," the glint behind the young girl's eyes suddenly blazed into utter madness, and with a banshee's screech she charged ahead with contempt that could rival an unstoppable plague. But Blake had been reviled for her entire life; this _tiny _amount of hate was _nothing at all_, "I'll _destroy you, Demon!"_

"I've ruined many lives with these two hands, innocent or guilty, young or old," her bestial eyes glowed golden with equal cruelty, "What is _one more?_"

A glob of unearthly darkness flew directly towards Ruby' face, forcing the young girl to sidestep out of the way while readying her scythe for a counter attack. She would not allow it. In an instant, the glob turned into a string of the ugliest black as it lashed hard against the young girl's shoulders, sending her faltering a step before twisting away just in time to avoid a slap to the face. Blake Belladonna barely moved her arm at all, using only her wrists and fingers to craft an impossible web of punishment, and although Ruby dodged and blocked and sliced away at the tricky whip that seemed to come from all eight directions at once, they somehow always managed to find a defenseless patch of flesh to lash at, a spot of open skin to cut bright red. It was as if the accursed black had a life of its own! No matter how tough that Dust-formed clothes of hers were, it would not matter if the flesh underneath was pounded into indistinguishable bits!

But Ruby did not disappoint. By the fifth strike she had already seen through Blake's trickery, and as she backed out of attacking range suddenly – even as the whip _elongated _and chased doggedly for her head – the young girl elevated her rifle to point directly at the appendage and fired three rounds of Dust fire. Each bullet cut through the unnatural limb with unnerving accuracy, and before Blake could even think of regenerating them Ruby wiped it out of existence with a following flash of the blade. Blake nodded once in amazement, and Ruby gave away nothing at all.

Seizing the moment of opportunity, both woman dashed forwards almost simultaneously with weapon in arms and guttural growls, with Ruby getting into range first and bearing her giant scythe down like the grim reaper of death. It was one of her most powerful attacks; a simple swing with the best footing and the best range and the full use of her entire body strength to reap the enemy's life from head to toe, shoulder to kidney. Many lower class Demons had underestimated the raw strength of the human body, especially one so small as her, and be cleaved in half before they even understood what happened. No puny sword was ever going to stop her killing blow, and when she saw that the enemy had no intentions to dodge she thought for sure she had won the duel there and then.

However, it was Ruby who had underestimated her enemy. How long had it been since she fought a Demon skilled in armed duels? Twisting her waist down left Blake bent at an impossible angle to hold up a defensive cleaver, and as the grand scythe crashed into the crude metal it resisted, skidded, then got carried away completely to the other side without scratching even the skin of its intended target. Shocked, Ruby barely reacted as a black _katana_ stabbed cleanly between her ribs, and she would have been severed in half by the following pause-and-slash had she not threw herself onto the ground at the last second.

Blake snorted derisively at her failed ambush, but wasted no time in pressing her next attacks without mercy. In an instant she rushed in like lightning towards the gasping Ruby, bearing twin swords and a gun against a scythe suddenly too huge to do anything within such close quarters. The dark-haired woman grinned with sadistic satisfaction as she pulled thrice the trigger of her pistol and watched them bounced painfully off the girl's chest, further robbing away precious air from her lungs. _Who was the hunted now, Huntress!?_ As Ruby staggered into a desperate horizontal swing, Blake easily leaped over the blow and aimed a thrust towards the forehead. The once-human heaved a stoic sigh in her heart; it was over.

However, just as Ruby was ignorant of Blake's skill, the latter was unaware of the girl's resourcefulness. Against all expectations and shocking Blake to the core, Ruby Rose actually swung her head _forwards _to meet the deadly thrust with a savage grin on her face. _Was she trying to _die_?_ Blake's grip on the blade did not falter, but she suddenly realized that the thrust had not gained enough momentum. Instead of the single, fluid motion she expected to pierce the Huntress' skull like hot knife through butter, the tip was actually balked for just the briefest of an instant against the human skull.

It was exactly the moment Ruby had waited for. Immediately she twisted her neck to one side just in time for the blade to slide off with an appalling _squelch_, and before Blake could react the Huntress had exploded the head of her scythe to snap directly across the woman's ribs. The appalling crack was every bit as bad as it sounded as Blake crashed a good twenty feet away like a rag doll. _Impossible, _Blake thought dazedly to herself even as she writhed with unspeakable agony, _she actually pushed my blade away with her forehead_. Impossible!As she tried to climb back to her feet, Blake saw clearly with growing horror the fallen girl already staggering back to an upright position, _smiling,_ utterly careless of the horrible gash across her forehead and crimson blood spilling into her eyes. How could anyone pull such a crazy move, and not falter for even a second? How could anyone suffer such a hit, and still smile as wide as a kid eager for their Christmas gift? It was only then Blake realized that she had perhaps made a huge mistake of perception.

Just who was the human here, and who the real _monster?_

Blake Belladonna shook her head and steeled herself. None of her internal conflicts mattered; the only thing she needed to do was to end this clash, _now._ Suddenly darkness spread out underneath her feet like a stain of corruption, and it ate away even at the Dust-encrusted ground until everything _except that ominous, bloody red_ was encased in darkness. Black figures writhed forth into existence, and the young girl's eyes widened to see that were _all_ _Blake Belladonna_; growing from ten, fifty, a hundred, _a thousand_. All of them were armed. All of them were her equal. Classic novels would dictate the young girl to kill just one true body to appease all. In reality, she had to vanquish each and every one of these shadows and her, until there was no speck of her existence left in this cruel world. Had this fight happened during the day, it could've been possible.

But the night was still young, and amidst the darkness she – she was _infinite._

Ruby had seemed like she wanted to say something then, but Blake refused to be distracted. As the army of clones marched forwards, the front line with blades and the second with whips and the back with pistols zooming from every high point possible, they crashed down onto the poor youngling like a gigantic tsunami. A hundred blades bore down onto the enemy with cuts and thrusts and strikes and smashes, and yet the young girl held on forcibly with mighty swings of her crimson scythe, swatting them back again and again. A hundred whips slithered into view to wrap and whip and strangle the Huntress to death, and yet she cleverly manipulated a tiny twister with rapid spins to strike them out of harm's way. A thousand bullets fired endlessly from all sides to riddle her like a hornet's nest, and _still _she managed to dodge and parry and dance out of the way like a fairy of legends, and came out with only the lightest of cuts.

Blake had to admit that she was impressed. Mind-boggled, even. Blake had to concede that she would not have won this fight if she fought her as a human, fought her without using almost everything at her disposal at the absolute limits of her strength. Unfortunately there was one more technique that she could not employ under the current circumstances, but with sheer numbers on her side the handicap was irrelevant. Impassionedly, Blake ordered the frontmost clones to charge at all costs towards Ruby Rose. As if sensing her intentions, the first and second waves were decimated before they even got close. The third wave managed to slink in a few meters before meeting the same fate, and the fourth got even closer with both its comrades' sacrifices and supporting fire from above.

Before long, even with Ruby's heroic efforts, the shadow clones finally squeezed the Huntress into a literal dead end. Desperate, the young girl risked everything by leaping sky high in hopes of finding better fighting ground, but before she rose even a few centimeters she abruptly fell towards the ground limp and weak. She looked down confusedly towards her legs. Then her hands. Then her body. Everywhere she looked stains of darkness was spreading like a plague from the many inflicted wounds she forgot to be consequential, eating away at every bit of strength she could barely move an arm. Many steel rose. Many steel, fell.

Blake closed her eyes. She was a master of deception and trickery. She may be an excellent and versatile fighter, but the very origin of her style was built on those foundations. Still she could not bear to look as the cold steels sank with hollow thunks into the body of the young girl. It was not a worthy death. In her entire life she had never met such a powerful Huntress, much less fight one and emerge the victor. It wasn't even her own strength. In the end, the hero had fallen to the cheapest tricks in the book, and the monster lived yet to kill another day. Blake laughed emptily to herself. There was no such thing as a happy ending; the world wasn't a fairy tale after all.

_Wait a second. Thunk?_

"_Ahaha! _I applaud your efforts, they were very impressive," An innocent laughter pierced through the shattering white moon clear as a bell_, _"But I hope you're done, because I'm going to show you _mine _now!"

There was a loud, whooshing sizzle, then the mechanical switching of a Dust magazine. She thought she saw a cross, and then it was just red. Red _everywhere_. From the center of the ground gushed forth an unbelievable tornado of _bloody petals_, and they swallowed away at her shadow clones so quickly Blake could hardly believe it was happening. Even as she sent forth the rest of her remaining clones to suppress the enemy – all the while regenerating new reinforcements from the back – the crimson death ripped through them so easily they might as well be made of paper._ Impossible, _the young woman thought despairingly, hopelessly, almost _admiringly _at the endless red killing the darkness faster than it could exist. _All this time,_ she thought with an uncontrollable chill down her spine, _she fought me without using her Semblance? She fought me without using her trump card? Was she really human? Was this even something a human's capable of?_

If _this _was the true potential of a human's capacity, then all this she had spent scorning herself, disbelieving in her own strength to control the monster living inside her – had she misjudged her own capabilities, her _human _strength and heart? She thought she believed in people. She thought she believed in their potential and strength.

But had she really been looking down on humanity _this entire time?_

There was the fluttering of cloth, and then a painful crack at the back of her head as Blake fell unceremoniously towards the ground. She felt the unmistakable sole of a boot stomping down on her head immediately after, and it grinded harshly in a circular pattern as if to elicit pleasure out of her tortured groans. Her heart turned cold as death as she felt round steel jamming roughly behind her skull,

"C'mon, run away. I'm sure you can do some sneaky stuff like sinking into the walls like before. And I've noticed that you tied your whip to the pistol; why don't you try to do anything fancy with it?"

She certainly could. There was near absolute safety behind the dimension of darkness, and she could easily summon every one of her shadow clones and fight again, not to mention that she still had the _kusarigama _style. She also had near infinite energy to employ until morning arrives, and if the heavy breathing and shaking boots were any indication then her opponent was faltering, weary, hurt. Whatever the Huntress did to escape her curse have to have taken a terrible toll. She could win. She could beat this _monster _of a human.

But to what end?

"I have lost," Blake Belladonna said in a subdued tone, "Kill me."

"_Aha!_ Don't you worry about that, I definitely will," There was more than just chilling to that innocent voice, but Blake could barely feel anything the way she was now. She just wanted everything to _end already_, "But don't you want to resist? I mean, you've fought so hard and long, surely you don't mind entertaining me just a little longer, hmm?"

"No," there was a little more energy in her voice this time, "I don – _Gagggrrgrf!_"

There was a crack of gunfire, and an extraordinary pain blossoming at the center of her neck. The young woman gurgled and clawed at her throat, but already her wounds were mending, healing ever so slowly against the counteracting effects of Dust. Ruby Rose bowed behind to her ears and cooed admiringly,

"Oh my, this is interesting. I've seen some Demons with powerful healing factors, but yours is so fast it's almost like _time _itself is rewinding. How do you do that? Is it the same everywhere else? Let us go by the order of your legs, your hands, and your _heart_ and see, shall we? _Ahahahaha!_"

Every time she spoke gunfire broke through the air, and Blake screamed as the bullets penetrated her body mercilessly and burned like wildfire. Fear gouged through her as she thrashed wildly trying to escape, to no avail: before she knew it the youngling had scattered Dust all over the ground again, preventing her from forming even the tiniest hole of darkness. With her entire body literally being _consumed _by Dust, she couldn't possibly concentrate enough to form one anyway. _Is this it? _Blake thought amidst the haze of heat, _is this the punishment for my sins? Humiliated, tortured, helpless to do anything until death claims me? _She thought of her mother. She thought of Brawn and his family. She thought of Elliot, cowering at a corner with his pure heart forever tainted by blood.

_Will it be enough?_

She turned quiet. Unresponsive. No matter how much Ruby tried to provoke a response, Blake uttered not a sound and didn't so much as twitch an involuntary muscle. It didn't take her long to grow bored, and as the adrenaline faded her own injuries had begun to take its toll over her. She pulled the young woman by her hair and slipped Crescent Rose's blade right underneath her neck, drawing countless streams of blood during the process. Blake Belladonna closed her eyes, and waited.

"Any last words?"

Blake opened her mouth, before closing it again. There were so many things she wanted to say; but in the end, none of it mattered. She did not deserve it anyway. She had meant to repay everything in death, and death alone would be her answer.

"I see. Goodbye."

_Indeed. Goodbye, Elliot. Goodbye, Berry. Goodbye, Bamborsa, everyone. And mother… here I come._

_BANG._

Death, had never felt so peaceful.


	11. Devil Wind - Death, Is Not The End

**Author's Notes: For some people, death is the greatest form of release. But are you truly free in death? Or are you just damning every fate bound to you in a vicious cycle of sadness that may see no end?**

* * *

><p>It was a blue sky. The crows were curiously absent, and the greeneries looked lush and filled with life. Elliot Binder breathed in deeply on top of the wooden stand, as he clutched the mike in his hands in a tight grip, trying to control his nerves from venturing out of control. On any other day, it would have been a wonderful morning to wake up to.<p>

Today wasn't one of those days.

"… I am Elliot Binder, and I will like to dedicate this eulogy to my friend, Blake Belladonna. Before I begin, I swear that every words I say are absolutely true to my heart, and that I will utter no lies or deceits in honor of my best friend, Blake Belladonna. I have known her long enough to know that she hates such behaviors, and thus I will speak truthfully no matter good or bad, pleasant or painful. I hereby beg the forgiveness for those whom I may accidentally offend.

How do I start? When I first came to know Blake Belladonna, it was five years ago at the library. Of course, my first impression of her unfortunately, like everyone else, was nothing good. She was simply another strange foreigner, and her eyes are definitely unlike anything I've ever seen. Golden, cold, with an animalistic glint that spoke of strange menace and attentiveness. It was unnerving as it was scary. Not only that, she was also quiet, anti-social, and moody. Her past, even now, is a complete mystery to me. Everyone has darkness inside their heart, but the ones that are constantly lingering behind her back is one that can choke the life out of any jovial mood. She is polite, and she is even nice when she speaks once in a blue moon, but no one really likes her around, and I'm sure anyone of you who has spent some time with her will know exactly what I mean.

So despite our library's open house policy, I regretfully admit that one day I simply cannot stand it anymore. If you don't know, Blake often frequented the library to read books, and one day I decided to take it upon myself to shoo her out of the place permanently. As you all know, we are the major town of trade between the Vytal, Atlas and Shiva Kingdom, so even someone like me have been raised to be merciless little liars who would rob any foolish man out of his day's Liens blind. It's a proud tradition, a part of our culture. So in my defense, I was simply staying true to my roots when I tried to trick Blake out of whatever Lien she has left and get her to leave. I _may_ also have tried to trick her out of her rags, literally speaking, like what can I say, despite all that sulkiness she still isquite beautiful –"

There were instantaneous boos erupting from the massive crowd behind him, and the young boy winced physically at the sheer volume of the noise. After all, there were literally _thousands _of townsmen who were attending the obituary, and knowing that this particular obituary was unique enough that his eulogy was broadcasted _all over the town _by loudspeaker he almost stepped down there and then. But then there were even louder laughter erupting from the people, be it genuine or polite, and he understood that they appreciated his efforts to lighten the mood if only ever so slightly. Their positive reaction gave him both the confidence and support to continue speaking.

"But if you know Blake Belladonna, if anyone of you has ever tried to fool Blake like I did when she first came to this town, then you would also know that I have failed miserably. For obvious reason I did not take her seriously, but even if I did I still would not have won against her. She is a genius at the Art and a master of the game unlike any other I've ever seen. And this isn't just from my own experience; I have seen her beaten the best of you at your own game, have seen her swindling the swindlers themselves who did not realize what they've lost until it's too late, and the way she can always, _always_ turned a bad hand, a _rigged _hand into a smashing full house –" by now he was facing towards the crowd, as he pointed a finger towards Berry who raised his arms in mock surrender, then at James who just scoffed loudly but miraculously did not refute,

"– it was just _amazing_. But that isn't all. Do you still remember, Berry? The day she beat you was also the first day she smiled. Everyone was cheering and laughing and going utterly crazy at her unbelievable comeback, and even though it was just for a short moment, I definitely saw it: _Blake_ sulky Belladonna, smiling like the sun has risen out of the horizon. Ever since that day, she's changed. She took the first step. She tried to mingle, she actually _spoke _out her mind, and over time we too grow to tolerate her, understand her, _accept _her. You and I, people who only care for profit and family and nothing else, _accepted a foreigner in as our own._

She _changed _us. It is a titanic effort, and even if you still don't like her, you have to respect that _strength._ She has proven herself to be strong. She has proven to all of us that her silence was not a weakness, and that her gentle demureness was actual, genuine respect for every man she had ever encountered. There is absolutely _no doubt_ in my heart that even though her roots may not be here, she is one of us – she is a _Bamborsa (Player)!_"

Cheers. There were actual cheers breaking out of this solemn ceremony, and although they were subdued rather quickly he, Elliot Binder, felt a powerful warmth welling inside his heart. Had Blake been here, she would have appreciated it. Had Blake been here, he might even get the chance to see her cracking out of her usual, stoic shell and beam a true smile.

_If only._

"– Three days ago."

The silence was instantaneous. Elliot could feel every gaze within vicinity boring into him like a physical drill, and it took every bit of his courage to just stand there without shaking like a leaf. But this was the moment he had been waiting for, and he would rather die than let something as pitiful as nerves to stop him after coming so far,

"Three days ago, our _brother and sister_ have been found killed at midnight, and I was a witness of one of the murders. I will spare you most of the details, and I believe there is no one who has not yet heard of it yet. Brawn Steelbend, father of three and faithful man of God, died trying to protect me in the library. Blake Belladonna, child of Bamborsa, was found killed at her own apartment. Neither…"

Elliot took a deep breath, visibly trying to control his emotions from tainting his words,

"Neither has much of a corpse left, so to speak. This was all by the hands of one terrible monster, the _Grimm_, and thankfully it has since been vanquished with the help of two great Huntresses. Without their assistance, there might have been hundreds dead, as evident by the destruction of the Cobalt Main Street. Because our benefactors wish to remain anonymous I will not reveal their names, but I hereby thank them once again for avenging our fallen blood, and that we will never forget their kindness. One day, we will definitely repay this favor.

However, this raises another issue that has been plaguing my mind since that fateful day: How can this even happen in the first place? How did the Grimm manage to trespass right to the _center _of our town without any resistance at all?"

It was inevitable that some voices were raised. Some of the guards looked clearly uncomfortable at the unsaid accusation, and Brawn's widow literally jumped out from the front most seat ready for a hysterical scream, but Elliot quickly cut them all short as he continued forcefully,

"Please, calm down! I do not mean to accuse anyone of guilt! From the account of our saviors, the Grimm is apparently a new type who could move through shadows as if they're part of its body, and thus bypassing any thick walls or protection – safe Dust – we have. _No one _is to be blamed. If there is anyone at fault, it will only be the _Grimm_," Elliot uttered the word with such venom that it instantly shut up anyone who had a thought to speak their own mind. More than a few people looked clearly surprised at his unusual behavior. For the longest of time, he was the meek, quiet little librarian too 'nerdy' for socializing and too obsessed with books to care. But people change every day. Blake changed. He too, must change if he was to honor her memory.

"Many of you may have noticed that the Southern Gate is still closed to this date, and with good reason. Just this morning, we receive reports that there are more Grimm than anything we've ever seen before flooding into the southern forest, and several of our brave guards had already been injured in the attempt to contain them there. The frontier bases are caught off guard despite earlier warnings, and we are completely cut off from any land-based assistance we may get from them. In fact, we have been urged to escape immediately, for they are now caught in a pincer from both sides of the road. Somehow the Grimm must have found an alternate way to pass through the Cerulean Mountains, and already the outermost base has fallen to their hands.

And finally, the black fog that has protected us for so long… is gone. No one has seen a hint of it for the past three days, and the number of Grimm in the forest just keeps on growing. The situation we have now is, to put it into perspective, critical."

To the townspeople's credit they did not panic, mostly because a huge majority of them thought that it was some stupid joke and was waiting for the punch line. However, the governor and more than a few officials obviously thought otherwise as they leaped out of their seats with loud and incoherent yells, and some were even trying to run up the stands until the utterly confused guards stopped them by instinct. Elliot's blood ran cold at the sight – so at least a number of the officials _had _planned to suppress the dire news until they could make their own escape. He would never have known this himself if his friends working in the town hall did not tell him.

Ironically, this sacred funeral held in honor of the fallen victims of the most brutal Grimm killings in five years was the thing that kept them from running away the instant they saw the reports. Whether it was because they still respected the old traditions of honoring those who were felled by the Grimm, or because they knew they would be skinned alive by any faithful Bamborsa for skipping such a funeral no matter where they ran, it did not really matter. Elliot simply understood that their cowardice made him _furious_. How _dare_ these people forget their pride to greed and weakness so easily; or perhaps they never had any to begin with. How _dare _they forget their own heritage!

A crazy idea suddenly sprouted inside Elliot's head, and once it began it could not be stopped. If he succeeded, many people would die for his ideals, and any progresses their town – their _community _– had made towards peace would be set back for a very, very long time. If he failed, he would be locked up for sure and probably be executed as an 'accident', and his entire family would end up in shameful disgrace or worse, exilation. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

_And? After all that has happened, am I'm going to just run away like those cowards; abandoning my home, abandoning our history,_ _abandoning Brawn and Blake to those fucking monsters?_

* * *

><p>Elliot turned around to face the people, knowing that he had only one chance to pull this off before the security guards stopped hesitating and pulled him off the stand. He shouted,<p>

"Everyone! Please, listen! I _know, _that this is a terrible shock for you all! Hell, I doubted my own sanity when I discovered this literally the day after _my best friend's death! _I know that you're scared, I know you want to think that this is all a dream, a terrible joke, but _it's real _and it's_ coming, _and time is already running out! So please, let's not waste any more time and _listen to what I have to say!_"

Perhaps he had leadership qualities he never knew of, or perhaps it was just the right moment at the right time. Perhaps it was even plot armor. But regardless, before the townspeople did not spiral into chaos and piped down just enough for him to continue his words,

"At the moment, there are two courses of action: One, we abandon our town _right now_, and escape towards the closest neighboring town, Lie Feng. From there, we will plot a course southeast towards the city of Jiu Xu, the home of the Jade Dragon of Vytal, where we'll be able to find safety and refuge even against a thousand Grimm. I highly recommend those who are too young or old, sick or meek to start packing up right away and head there now. It will be painful to leave our homes, but it is far better to live another day than die under the jaws of the Grimm!

But for those who have courage and are capable, for those who have _reasons _to be firm even at the face of death, for those who still remembers who they _truly are_… I say we_ stay,_ and protect our town. I say we _rescue_ the frontier bases. I say we fight._ Back._"

Elliot never knew whether the crowd's reactions were positive or negative, because at that moment a shrill cry pierced his ears, and a blurred figure suddenly charged in like a bull to knock the wind completely out of his lungs. Elliot knew exactly who she was; already anticipated that something like this could happen, but certainly did not expect the unusual strength that actually wrestled him to the ground. Thank god that for all his lack of athleticism, he wasn't so weak he couldn't hold back his own sister. May Binder screeched,

"Are you _insane? Fight back? _What kind of crazy nonsense are you even _saying?_"

"I mean exactly what I mean, sister!" Elliot grunted and struggled with all his might to keep the mike close to his mouth, "I'm going to stay. I'm going to fight and protect our town!"

"_Are you fucking kidding me? _Look at you! You can't – even stop – _me!_ How the _fuck _do you think you even stand a chance against the Grimm? Is it because of _her? _Come _on, Elliot, _she's already –"

"_DEAD! YES, MAY, BLAKE. IS. DEAD!"_

As a full blown roar it wasn't particularly inspiring; more like a half squeal running on pure adrenaline that was more high-pitched than masculine. And yet everyone fell silent, and even May ceased struggling temporarily to stare incredulously at her younger brother. She had never seen him like this. _He _had never known himself to be like this. The tears streamed down his eyes like waterfall, and Elliot Binder wept,

"Have you _seen _a man get _eaten_ by the Grimm, May? It took Brawn's neck first, snapping it in half with one bite. Then it severed open his chest and stomach and buried its fucking _face _into its guts. It _ate him alive;_ _Remnant, _I can't forget the _sounds_, I can _never forget_, and guess what? _He was still better off than Blake! _She didn't even _have _a… a…"

What could he say? On that fateful day, when the Grimm – that speaking, _intelligent monstrosity _– had curiously let him escape, he spent the entire night walled up in his room, shivering like a mouse right till the morning, and it was only then he suddenly realized that the fucking monster was pretending to be her, and _he had not seen Blake the entire night_. Immediately he ran towards her apartment – there was a chance she could be in the library, but he was still too terrified to go back – and banged wildly on the door. He did not even realize the _smell _at the time, either because he was way too distraught or simply because his mind was trying to block away the cruel reality.

It was only until five minutes later that he finally remembered to get the key from the landlady, and another five to convince the stunned old woman that he wasn't going insane and that they really, really need to get inside Blake Belladonna's room immediately. The moment the lock unwound with a clink, the poor woman took one peek inside, and fainted. He wished he was her, but all he could do was to fall on his knees and scream. What was inside need not be said, except that it was hell reincarnate, and amidst all the blood and gore he still recognized that one thing that left no doubt as to what happened. The one thing that she never went without, the one thing that she held so preciously that it literally became the signature of Blake Belladonna.

A torn up, bloody black bow.

"I'm not even going to pretend that I'm after something noble, even though I sure as hell do _not _want Blake or Brawn's graves defiled by those filthy _scums_. I want _revenge_. I've never regretted not being a Huntsman _so much _in my entire life, and I just _cannot live _with myself anymore, not without knowing that the Grimm out there somewhere _killing people_, and me not doing anything about it. Do you understand? I'm sorry May, but I need to do this – I need to _kill them_, and there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop me. I will do this with, or without your support."

He stood up, leaving a dazed May staring thoughtlessly at the ground. Everywhere, the people were staring at him with mixed emotions of fear and hate and shame and understanding and even _awe_, but those weren't the things he wanted to see. He could care less about himself. The only thing he wanted to know right now was whether he had their permission, their support, and above all, their _rage and hatred _towards the Grimm.

"I hope that you have not forgotten who we are," Elliot began slowly, steadily, his nervousness and his eyes shining with a strange, almost fanatic light, "No, I am _sure _you have not forgotten who we _truly_ are. A hundred and thirty years ago, we are the hidden hand of our Kingdom, the knights in the dark, the warriors who swore oaths to defend our people from enemies until our very last breath. Since then we have experienced a comfortable time of peace, and are content to relinquish our arms in pursuit of a quieter life.

But once again our Kingdom is endangered by the threat of the Grimm, and even now our allies are fighting bravely out there, buying us precious time so we can _run away with tails between our legs._ Don't you think that's pathetic? Have we truly fallen so low that we will leave those courageous men to die, when _we _are the ones who are supposed to protect them? _No!_

Please remember again, my friends, why we call ourselves a 'Player'. We are the devil without fangs, for we have given it up willingly to preserve the peace we enjoy until now. Hence we 'play' games with our opponents, but we will never bring harm or violence onto anyone because it is all _just a game. _But it seems that our enemies have forgotten what we're capable of, and are eager to bring violence unto us. _How utterly laughable. _The Grimm wants to fight us? _Then let us take the fight to them! _They want to kill us? Then let us remind them precisely why we had to give up our brand of violence, _and slaughter every one of them until nothing's left! _Let us rise, my friends, and reclaim our true selves! Rise, and claim the vengeance that is rightfully _ours! We –_"

It could be a coincidence. He certainly did not plan for any of this to happen, much less having that one crucial item that literally defined their true identity. Looking back, had he not been fiddling about the pockets of his long coat unconsciously, a natural habit whenever he was under pressure, this entire speech he had been building up to that point could have fallen apart. Heck, he didn't even know how it got in there the first place; normally he would never have carried such an ominous thing alongside him. But the moment he found it in his pockets at that exact time he needed it, the moment he realized what it was and pulled it out to the open slowly, distastefully, almost _reverently,_ amidst the hushed and awed people of Bamborsa, Elliot knew.

"_**We are the White Fang, the shadow reborn, the Devil reincarnate. Once again we have risen from the annals of history, and we will not stop until every Grimm in this world. Is. DEAD!"**_

It was his _destiny._

* * *

><p>"This is <em>your <em>doing?"

"I just saw the possibility, and gave it a chance to sprout and flower. Why? You don't like it?"

"No. It's just that I'd appreciate a warning when there's a _change_ in plans, because then I wouldn't have spent _so damn much _trying to start an invasion that's doomed to fail in the first place!"

An ominous red. A lingering wisp of smoke floating across the air. A pair of man and woman loitered atop the open balcony of a flat as they gazed down endearingly at the birth of an unsuspecting revolution. Well, maybe just one of them; the other green-eyed, orange-haired man adorned in sleek white suit was a bit busy gnashing down on his cigar while counting their losses. If it had been up to him, he would strangle that stupid little boy who had screwed up _everything _he had planned this instant.

A slick voice answered his grumbles calmly and soothingly, "Oh, Roman. Haven't I told you many times already? Money does not matter; we can always get more down the road. Besides, even if this invasion succeeds, do you really believe that the Vytal Kingdom will fall just like that? That we've gotten this unexpected prize actually makes our mission all the more successful."

"Well, forgive me if I'm not used to spending a war chest just to make a petty distraction – wait a second. What did you say? What unexpected prize you're talking about?"

"Who else?" the woman dressed in red chuckled, "The White Fang, of course."

He nearly dropped his cigar, _"What? _But they're a bunch of fanatics! _Freaks! _Look at them; crazy bastards wearing those _Grimm masks _like they're monsters themselves! Why on earth will we want to have anything to do with them?"

"Ah, but people who are driven makes them all the more easier to control," the young woman lifted herself gingerly towards Roman, and slipped a palm across his cheeks. Instantly the white-suited man stiffened, and as if in reaction the strange runes engraved into the woman's clothes and body and even her eyes suddenly _burned_ with ominous light, "Besides, isn't that what brought you to me in the first place? Are you saying that you're _regretting _joining my crew, now?"

Roman merely grunted, and averted his gaze. Satisfied, the mysterious woman let go and turned her gaze back towards the crowd. A sensual smile adorned her lips, and yet all it inspired was a crawling sense of fear and cruelty,

"Leave this lot to me. In two months, I should be able to turn them into something… useful. After that, you'll be able to use them in any way you want to. But for now, our job here is done. Do head out to Shiva now and set Phase One in motion, will you?"

"But what about Red and her companions? They've even brought that _thing _with them, haven't they? I thought you want it for yourself?"

"Let them go. We'll deal with them in due time, but for now they won't interfere with our plans. Besides," her gaze slithered towards an open window down her far left, eyes dancing with lights of amusement, "it seems that the pests will sort it out among themselves eventually. Now then, Roman, let us get out of here. We don't want to miss out on the celebration now, do we?"

"Oh, joy."

And just like that, the two figures turned back against the frenzied crowd, and with a silent clap of the door, gone like they were never there.


	12. Devil Wind - Epilogue

**Author's Note: And finally, we are at the end of the road for Devil Wind.**

**First, I'd like to thank all my readers for sticking with me this far - especially DezoPenguin, like seriously, I don't think I can find anyone else who will review every chapter with such detail and attentiveness. Moreover, his constant advice really helped developed this story to become a lot more than it originally was. Like just look at the current word count! _It grew a behemoth length of 13k words!_  
><strong>

**That being said, I understand that in the end, some places are still not... sufficient. I definitely should have at least briefed through Blake's life in Bamborsa- maybe a chapter that describes a full day of her daily life at the beginning instead of diving straight into the plot. In the end, I decided to stick with the Core path and leave out many potential back stories as future one shots. **

**I feel like they would have sidetracked the main arc a bit too much, and I do not want to fall into the trap where there are more flashback materials than present content. But maybe I've overdone it this time around, and caused certain scenes to feel less epic that it could've been.**

**So below are a list of things I plan to write in the future so as to fill the readers in on the missing blanks:**

**1) Ruby's back story. It will be novel length, and unlike my epic series where I finish writing everything before I post them, then edit and add into every chapter along the way like an idiot, this will be a slow updating series much like the long fanfics out there. Because there's 13 years to write.**

**2) Blake's back story. Probably novel length. I think I can do this with just a series of continuing one shots, since she only spent 2 years in Bamborsa before being turned into some sort of a martyr.  
><strong>

**3) Many, many interludes - Such as the promised 'Yang and Ruby hates each other on a tree, k-i-s-' no wait, I think I got that wrong. Point. I'll fill in anything that the readers may feel insufficient and require extra explanation (pleeeeease PM me on this because I'm just a human and will miss out on essentials I should've put in). Such as the Truth of Devil Wind's Chapter 9, for example.**

**So in conclusion, I'll try to my best to keep a good balance between back story and present timeline. Now, without further ado, please enjoy the longest chapter EVER in Devil Wind (did I hear someone scream?), and until then... stay sharp!**

**P.S. I wanted to clue you guys in on a certain... _intentional inconsistency _in the previous chapter, but I decided not to. Again. Sorry. See if you can spot it first!**

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue – 'To be reborn is to be set free, to become anew, and to let go of what once was… forever.'<strong>

* * *

><p>July 25th, year 2030. The sun was bright, and the midday heat was enough to boil an egg of the ground. Yang Xiao Long had long since been reduced to a pathetic mess, panting and sweating like a waterfall as she lifted her dry water skin up to the edge of her lips, only to stop before putting it down again. The action was automated, monotonous, an unconscious act barely suppressed by a spark of tiring will. As if she didn't need every ounce to fight back against this dastardly drowsiness already.<p>

She felt her eyelids drooped, a left foot faltering just a little that she nearly stumbled onto the ground. The vertigo woke her senses up just in time for her to catch herself, but the heavy mass behind her forced her onto one knee. Normally, this would never have been a problem. She knew her own strength very well, and even under this killing heat she deduced that she would be able to walk on for at least seven, no, eight hours without pause. If there was one thing she was known for – other than her legendary temper and rowdy attitude, that is – it would be her seemingly boundless energy to commit even the toughest and hardest of tasks.

But she hadn't been walking for just a measly eight hours – it was _twenty eight hours _since she last rested, and whatever food or water she brought with her had long since ran out. That she literally could not feel her legs was but one of the many alarming symptoms that she was desperately trying to ignore. Still, this was it. She simply could not get up on her feet anymore. Any minute now she would drop like a stone, and when that happens she would never see her again, lose her one and only chance to fix all these once and for all.

"_Rub_… _Ruby…_" she gasped, voice hoarse and raspy, her throat feeling dry enough to sand wood, "Stop. _Please._"

The young girl in red striding a good five meters before her did not stop, nor did she acknowledged her call in anyway. By now Yang could barely raise a whisper, and if it was anyone else it would have been understandable that they did not hear her. But this was Ruby Rose, one of the youngest and most powerful Huntress Yang had ever known. There was no way in hell she would miss her plea.

"Please," those feet strode on without pause, "I'm _sorry. _If you still think me as a partner, if our friendship mean anything at all," crimson cape fluttered carelessly along the wind, "_Please, for fuck's sake, stop."_

She nearly gave in when the footsteps trod on for a few seconds, but eventually they slowed, and finally came to a halt. Yang barely had a few seconds to savor her relief before cold, silver eyes pierced through them as sharp as her scythe,

"Finally ready to give up?"

"Right, I've carried this for twenty plus straight fucking hours only to give up at the very end," Yang Xiao Long said in a sarcastic tone, but she panicked when Ruby stepped closer with Crescent Rose raised, apparently taking her words on face value, "God damn it, sis! That means no, _no! _Like hell I'm giving up after coming this far!"

"Keep watching over her then. But the moment you drop your guard I _will _kill that monster."

"Why must you call her that?" Yang yelled angrily, but Ruby's retort came back just as sharp, "Why shouldn't I? She may look human, but there's not a cell in her body that actually is. _What_ else can regenerate an entire body from the head alone? How can you even defend her?"

Both women turned to stare at the 'luggage' slung firmly behind Yang's back – a tall but limp figure with flowing black hair and an ominous gun-katana holstered firmly at the waist. This was a dead girl who should not have existed three days ago, whose entire body was crushed by countless Dust rounds and should have died the instant Ruby Rose pulled the trigger and beheaded her completely. Yes, the person Yang had piggybacked for the last twenty hours was none other than Blake Belladonna.

* * *

><p>As expected, the moment the killing blow was dealt, the woman's body began to dissipate into blackish smoke much like the way a Grimm die. Demon or not they were still darkness incarnate, and in the end the only way they could go was to leave nothing behind. This particular Demon girl though, was different – while the majority of the torso evaporated into thin air, she actually left behind a huge pool of foul-smelling blood and scattered pieces of gore that Ruby could not care less to identify. In fact, the young girl felt positively ill at the thought of cleaning up the entire mess; barring her Master's, she had never found the need to clean up a corpse before, and in the state she was in she certainly did not feel like starting now.<p>

But then, the impossible happened. Not only she noticed that the woman's head did not scatter like the rest, it was also regenerating with alarming rapidity down the neck, sewing new flesh and bone and skin like it was some sort of a horror-themed magic trick. She would never have believed it if she didn't see it with her own two eyes. Instantly Ruby understood that she needed to kill the Demon girl now before she was literally restored to life, and she lifted her rifle once more to blast the severed head again and again until nothing was left. And if she still wouldn't die, well… cremation or burial by sea or both was always a fantastic idea.

That was the plan at least, until Yang crashed in the party to _punch_ the young girl to the ground with burning red eyes. She had heard the gunfire and tortured screams of a woman, and had arrived only to find her lopping Blake Belladonna's head clean off the torso. It was something she would never forget in her life, and the moment she saw Ruby trying to follow up with a shot to the face the blonde literally just _snapped_. At the time, she had not noticed that the freaking head was regenerating on its own and thought Ruby was desecrating a poor girl's corpse – even_ if _she was a Demon – and acted without thinking, while Ruby herself looked so shocked at her unrestrained anger, that after a tense minute the young girl abruptly got up from the ground and walked away without a word.

Confused and still wary, Yang did not follow her – she was still partially shocked herself by her own boldness to _hit _Ruby – and as she turned around to look at the thing, mind coming to a screeching halt at the sight of a bunch of flickering veins and blood vessels, she came to the abrupt realization that she had wrongly vilified the young girl, and she now had a living head to deal with. Under any other circumstances Yang would have fried the damn thing until there was nothing left but ashes, but she unfortunately had a very strong reason to avoid doing so. A promise, to be precise.

So the moment she confirmed that it was indeed Blake's and upon closer inspection, noticed that it was even _breathing _– _How the hell that works I do _not _want to know –_ she quickly scavenged a fluttering plastic bag by the road and stuffed the right head in ("I'm sorry sorry sorry _eeeeek! _Note to self, do _not _grab the neck, my _god!_"), and during the process pulled away the ripped black bow fluttering above her hair, and saw _it. _Hesitating for the briefest of instant, Yang shook away her doubts and headed straight back to the motel. There, she saw a fluttering red cloak sleeping alone at the rooftop again, and not feeling too chatty herself Yang went into her room, dropped into the bed and went out like a light.

The next day she woke up to the morning sunlight though, the solemn blonde quickly discovered two tiny problems. One, Blake had actually regenerated much quicker than expected and up to her shoulders already, so she was much bigger than before and would not fit into a plastic bag without raising immediate suspicions. Luckily she still fitted inside her bag pack, but it also meant that unless she skipped town as fast as possible, she would soon find herself trying to smuggle out a human body. Two was a simple and straightforward case: Ruby Rose was gone.

Naturally, Yang panicked. Where did she go? To what direction? Every time Ruby pulled out a map and talked mathematics Yang was dozing halfway through dreamland and paying only the briefest of attention. Hell, she didn't even know _when _she left; for all Yang knew the young girl could've left the instant she had fallen asleep and be tens of miles away right now! And what in Remnant was she going to do with her human baggage?

In the end, Yang Xiao Long managed to calm down her nerves and figured out the general outline of a plan. The duo had been travelling consistently northwest heading presumably towards _The Lost Altar, _although only the girl knew exactly where that place was. So she must have gone through the Northern Gate given that there's no longer any meaning to take a detour, and going by Ruby's reclusive nature she would choose to pass through the Dead Zone between Shiva and Atlas. Fast as she was that particular border was still a good fifty miles away, and the young girl couldn't _possibly_ had made it there yet, right…?

One way or another, Yang was determined to catch up to Ruby. Her partner might be a little off in the head, and at times Yang was even terrified of her, but at the same time she was also pure, innocent, and in truth just a _child _at heart. She was the one at fault this time, so she _had _to make up with her. The blonde could not imagine how hurt she was feeling right now, but just the lingering bitterness of their first fallout was enough to convince Yang that she _must _get to her no matter what.

And so Yang stuffed the black-haired woman into her largest bag pack – still couldn't resist muttering a sorry to the seemingly sleeping girl, and probably was – and marched straight towards the Northern Gate. Naturally she was a little stiff and high strung with half a body slung behind her back, but with a little bit of flirting and some under-the-table bribery for insurance, she managed to pass through the custom without any incident. Now came the hard part. As she sucked in a deep, grim breath, ready for what would be the longest and harshest marathon she ever experienced in her life, she ran right past a red-cloaked girl and –

– fell face first into a mouthful of dirt. The blonde pushed herself up frantically from the ground and looked to her right. There stood none other than her beloved partner Ruby Rose, a white bandage wrapped tightly around her head and silver eyes glaring cold and piercingly right into her own. Tentatively, Yang gave the young girl an uncertain wave and smiled, "Er, hi?"

Ruby did not acknowledge her, and simply turned her back towards the blonde and walked straight for the horizon. Yang would try to catch up with her while calling out for her to stop, but no matter how fast she ran Ruby was always five or six strides ahead, and the pursuit would continue for one, three, ten, _twenty eight _hours straight – until now.

* * *

><p>"I will… <em>admit <em>that it is bizarre," Yang forced herself to calm down. Anger and frustration would only get her nowhere, "I will admit that she has a Demon inside her. But this is no different from Da's case."

"There is a _huge _difference. The key to killing your father's Demon lies beyond the body it resides. This one is _born _a Demon. She is an abomination that should never have existed."

"_No one_ can choose how they're born!" Yang snapped before catching herself against another spell of dizziness. She took a deep breath and sat upright with her legs crossed, "Wait, what do you mean _born? _I thought a Demon is a higher evolution of the Grimm? How do you even _know _that in the first place?"

"I… made a random guess during our fight. I only mean for it to be a distraction, but she reacted to it instantly," for some reason the young Huntress looked strangely hesitant, and she deliberated over her words carefully before continuing, "It will seem that this… _Blake _is a crossbreed between a human and a Demon. I've heard rumors, and there were recordings, very old recordings among The Order's archive that mentioned of this… possibility. But it was at the heat of the moment, and now that I really think about it, the idea is simply too far-fetched to be true. I must be mistaken."

"But at the time!" Yang interrupted before Ruby could change the topic. She wasn't sure herself where she was going with this, but it felt like a key point in resolving their argument, "At the time, you _did _believe that she is a… an anomaly. You cannot deny that you _do _think that she is at least part human –"

"– _And_ a Demon as well," Ruby cut her off curt and cold, "An _extremely _dangerous Demon. Even against your Da I haven't needed to push myself so far. I actually could have _died _yesterday; see my wounds? There's absolutely no reason to leave such a dangerous threat alive, and I just hope we won't need to regret someone's_ stupid _interference."

_Ouch, _Yang winced as if the words physically hit her, and considering her deteriorating state it wasn't too far from the truth. This was no time to be feeling the aches however, "B-but! Doesn't that mean that she's a, _er, _very… valuable?"

"What?"

"She is… special," Yang began slowly, her brain spinning ideas faster than she thought possible, "She is the black fog creature, right? The fact that she _completely _eludes your senses, Aura or Demonic, makes her _very _special. And if she truly is the child between a Demon and a human, that makes her literally one of a kind, won't you agree?"

Ruby regarded at Yang with a strange look before replying, "I see. You want to use her as a research specimen? I didn't take you for that type, Yang –"

"Wait what? _No! _I mean, er," _okay this isn't working another angle, another angle… _"Okay. What if… what if she isn't the _only Demi-Human?_"

For the first time, Ruby came to a complete halt. In the haze of weariness Yang even thought she had accidentally broken her partner or something, until she felt herself abruptly dragged by the collar roughly to the front, "_What?_"

_Oh shit, _Yang thought despairingly to herself with her head spinning from vertigo, _that is exactly the wrong thing to say, isn't it? _But she had no choice but to keep on going, for it was also the only way she saw out for both her and the unconscious girl behind her,

"I said, she may not be the only one out there, is it? If there is one, then there can be two. You said it yourself that there are old records of these strange people, so what if there are more like her _now_? A small group, maybe even a village, hidden somewhere in this wide world…" Yang looked at Blake once, and muttered a solemn apology inside her heart. She would be committing a horrible sin if this completely fabricated bullshit actually turned out to be true, but if it meant saving a life and stop Ruby from staining her soul further, she would do it, "And what if she _knows where they are?_"

Ruby stayed still. Though her eyes still flared with a dangerous twinkle, the fact that she barely reacted to Yang trying to unloose her grasp on the collar was proof that the young girl was deep in thought. Yang found it really sad that it wasn't the notion of morality, but the possibility of a bigger, bloodier hunt that stopped her young friend in her tracks, but all the same – if she could stop her from unnecessary killing right here, then maybe she could stop Ruby from the same act in the future as well. Besides, it wasn't like this purely fabricated settlement of demonic humans actually existed, right?

"… All nonsense. You only want me to spare her life. You have absolutely nothing to support your words. The fact remains that no such people have ever been found to this date prove you wrong."

Yang said stubbornly, "What are you talking about? We found _her. _We found a person who cannot be sensed through Aura or demonic presence. Aren't these proofs as well? There _can be _such a village, or maybe a nomadic tribe wandering the world to avoid scrutiny. It _is _possible."

"I think you've forgotten about _these things _above her head," Abruptly Ruby reached past Yang's head to grab at the unconscious Blake, and the blonde nearly cried out in panic until she saw her pulling roughly at a curious, triangular-shaped thing. It was a pair of black, animalistic ears resembling a cat's, and one Yang would've called cute it wasn't proof of the monster blood running inside Blake Belladonna's veins, "How are they going to hide ears such as this? What if some of them have a monster claw, a tail, or maybe wings even? Such an odd community, no matter how small, is definitely going to get _noticed_. The simple answer is that your hypothetical village simply don't exist."

"_She _managed, and no one ever suspected a thing. So who's to say that the others can't do the same?" Yang lifted a chin and scratched an itchy spot at her neck, "Okay fine, I'll admit. I am _totally _bullshitting out of my mouth. I have _no idea _whether people like her exists, and all I have are guesses and more guesses, so let's just skip straight to the point, shall we? _She, exists._"

The blonde managed a shrug with her tired shoulders and grinned as confidently as she dared, "Can you _really _ignore the possibility of a second one? That she might _know_ a second one, or more?"

Ruby's cold silver eye stared deep into Yang's eyes like sharp needles. There were mechanical scrutiny running through every pore of her skin, every reaction she made, and the usually fearless brawler sweated buckets just seeing the grim reaper inside Ruby thinking, calculating, _tasting_ the potential of the meal to come rather than satiating her thirst this second. She knew very well that this was merely a glimpse of the bloody killer lurking deep inside Ruby's heart, and Yang fervently wished that she never have to be on the receiving end ever again.

Finally the young girl sighed, and let go of the blonde's collar. As if finally remembering her exhaustion Yang crumpled towards the ground like a sack of bricks, turning just in time to avoid squashing the girl behind her into a squishy pie and stayed there. Just as she let loose a groan of utter relief thinking that it was finally over, Ruby started again, "Just tell me one more thing, Yang. Why are you protecting her? I know you aren't stupid enough to do all this for some senseless sentimentality. She is a stranger, a murderer, and a _monster_. Just… why?"

* * *

><p>"Blake Belladonna is a devious, evil, and vengeful piece of <em>work<em>. I don't _like _her."

"… Uh, that's not what I…"

"Did you know she stole my binder and purposely left it at the highest spot of the shelf? I _hate _heights. She _knows _that I _hate _heights, and she did it just to spite me. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I _detest _her. Elliot is _such _a fool for not seeing the true devil behind her face."

"Excuse me, but…"

"Did I tell you about how she drew whiskers on my face _while I was asleep? _How _dare _she enter a lady's sacred bedroom! Technically she's also a girl, but how _dare _she enter _my _room and commit such a terrible _atrocity! _I was laughed in front of the entire student body! That's totally unacceptable, that's – !"

"You have your fun, Miss May, I think I'm just gonna go…" Yang stood up and headed straight for a back alley, but before she could make her escape the rambling young girl caught up quickly and pulled her back in panic,

"Ah, I'm sorry! I get distracted every time I talk about that _infuriating _woman, but I promise I won't do it again! Pinkie swear, please!?"

"Uh, no thank you. I – oh alright, just don't get sidetracked again…" With a sigh Yang sat down again on the cold, rough pavement before throwing out again the question she asked before, "Let's try this again. Tell me a little about yourself, your brother, and in detail about this girl you're accusing of being a _psychopathic murderer._"

May grew silent, as the severity of Yang's words sank into the atmosphere. Slowly, with surprising steadiness and maturity that completely contrasted with her behavior before, May began,

"As I have introduced myself before, I am May Binder, sixteen years old and the second daughter of the Binder family. My elder brother's name is Elliot Binder, who is currently seventeen and working full time at Bamborsa's only library, 'In Dust We Trust'. But he's not a dropout; on the contrary, Elliot has skipped two grades to finish general high school, and he is now applying for a scholarship in Dust Archaeology. It's only because he likes a quiet atmosphere that he works there."

May could not suppress a bit of proud undertone when she talked about her brother, and although she stopped almost immediately after and looked apprehensively at Yang, the blonde simply waved a hand and motioned her to continue,

"And then… there is Blake Belladonna. I suppose you can call her our _friend_, although she's much closer to Elliot than me – _exactly _the way I prefer it to be, by the way. She is a… peculiar woman, with a blank past no one knows and a mood that swings between gloomy and gloomier. She never shows her true feelings except during rare occasions, and her social masks are literally air proof. In my opinion, she is the most annoying and suspicious person I've ever met in my life, and coming from a _Bamborsa, _that is one helluva code red warning.

But. I must say that Blake is as smart and devious as she looks. She may look like… ugh, _is_ a gentle and demure young lady on the outside, but in her heart she has a Player that can outwit even the Devil himself. Ah, the 'Player' is a kind of belief in our town. We believe that every man in Bamborsa is born with a Player inside them, and it is up to the person to make good use of their blessed wit and intuition to make the best interests for themselves; to give praise to the Art of Life.

But even though Blake Belladonna is not one of us, it soon became clear that she is a person of great wit and astuteness. No sooner than three months she arrives at our town, she suddenly became well known for beating one of our best Player in a game of 17 Poker. Elliot was downright ecstatic when he told me about her unbelievable victory, and after that it was just one legend after another like a fairy tale. I didn't really believe it at the time, but after seeing a few games myself even I have to admit that – ah, I'm sorry. I'm getting sidetracked again, am I?"

Yang said quickly, "It's fine. Just try and speed it up to point."

"You're right, sorry. The point is, Elliot became friends with her since she often frequented the library, and I too… _know _of her when I stumbled into them one day on the streets. Since then the three of us became virtually inseparable, and for whatever reason we kept on stumbling into one trouble after another. The day Deadman Berry challenged Blake into a literal death gamble we nearly had a heart attack… well, anyway. We became close. I may not like it, but the three of us became very, very close," May pursed her lips, "And I soon realize that it is a problem."

Yang raised a helpless shoulder and asked, "And why is that? Friendship is always okay in my opinion."

"Friendship _is _okay, until you inevitably run into some skeletons you'd rather avoid," May said quietly, "As I've told you, Blake is a very mysterious person. She hides her secrets well, and to be honest I don't give a damn as long as they don't bother me or Elliot. But sometimes coincidences just happened even if you don't want them to, and given the time we've spent with each other it was just a matter of time.

One night I was out of some utilities and was going to get them at the convenience store, when I suddenly saw Blake passing by and heading down one of the smaller exits straight out of town. That path also led to the southern forest, so I got curious and followed her without her noticing."

Yang looked her up and down and said skeptically, "Right. Says the girl who got a new cat face in her sleep."

"Yes, yes, whatever. But you've got a point. Normally Blake is much more attentive of her surroundings, but that night she didn't look normal. She was breathing really hard with her hands quivering the entire time, and for a short time I even thought she did drugs. Then we went out of town and into the forest, and because it was so dark I lost track of her almost immediately. I was frustrated as hell at her, and as worried as I was I wasn't crazy enough to enter the forest at that kind of time – why didn't I stop her? I _wanted _to, but she was gone so quick I barely even see her disappear. I even tried calling out to her, but there was no response at all – so I turned back and was ready to call it a night.

But suddenly I heard a noise, something like a beast snarling cut short by a wet thunk out of nowhere, and froze. I thought that it had to be the Grimm, and Blake is in there somewhere doing god-knows-what. I don't dislike her that much that I will leave her to the Grimm's mercy, so even though I'm armed with only a Dust pistol I headed straight towards the growing noises and into a clearing. It was there I saw Blake… who was also _not _the Blake I knew."

"… What was she like?" Yang asked.

May took a deep breath to steady her nerves before continuing, "I've always known that she is a good fighter, one who could match toe-to-toe with most Hunters in the town, but this Blake I saw here… she was _overwhelming_. I saw her cleaving many of those monsters in half like it was nothing. I saw her dropping from the sky to crush a Beowolf's skull to bits. I even saw her strangling an Ursa with the black ribbon on her hands before ripping the head right off the body, and throughout all the violence Blake was _grinning all the way _like a madwoman. It's as if she's an uncontrollable beast, like _she's _the real monster there and not the Grimm.

Before I know it I was already out of the forest with every bit of speed I can muster, and the next few days – no, the entire week I can't even look at her in the face. Of course I didn't tell anyone. Whether she found out I never knew, and I don't feel like risking my life just to get an answer I'd probably hate."

At the end of the extraordinary tale May's hands were shaking like a leaf, and Yang offered the young lady her own to keep her calm. A sudden question popped into her mind as she asked, "Did you… notice anything else on Blake Belladonna? Maybe some smoke or something?"

May looked taken aback for a second before pondering, "Huh? I… can't be sure. I think… yes, maybe, every time she did a vanishing trick I thought… but it's just so dark at the time. I really can't tell. Is it important?"

"No, no, it's nothing," Except that it was, and Yang's suspicion of the connection between the black fog and Blake Belladonna was practically exploding like firecrackers, but she saw no need to spook the girl unnecessarily, "I think I see the picture now. Still, I want you to describe how you think this murder came to be. I just need the general idea, nothing much. Do you think you can do that?"

"Ah, about that. Now that I think about it maybe my account won't be accurate, since they are just guesses in the end. You should talk to Elliot; I think he's the _real _witness to the crime and –"

"Going to your brother is certainly one way, but if I remember correctly he's too shaken up to talk right now, isn't he?" Yang said as gently as possible, "Besides, _you _are the one who are accusing a friend of murder, and that is why I want to hear _your theory _on the matter. Don't you think so too?"

The young lady stiffened, and for a second her eyes flashed with a cold anger that Yang didn't think existed. But then she heaved a small sigh and sank into deep silence. Slowly, she spoke,

"Brawn died horribly. The… way he died isn't something many people can do in such a short time, and he is as qualified as any watch guard in Bamborsa, if not more. It looked like the work of a Grimm, but that's actually impossible. To come here, it will first have to slip past the walls and make its way to this center of the town. Then it picked a library, out of all places, to kill just one person and leave the other alive. I have never heard of a Grimm behaving like that, and we only have Beowolves and Ursi, and the very rare King Taijitu even back in the days when things were more dangerous. So with the Grimm out of the question, that left only humans, Exotics, or androids, and I think you can see for yourself that the other two is a pretty slim possibility. Our Kingdom just isn't as open as say, Vacuo when dealing with non-humans, or even non-sentient beings.

So if we're suspecting a human, then the walls become meaningless. Generally speaking, _anyone _with the right strength and guts _and _bat shit insanity can do this. However, if that is the case then the location of the murder is curious. Again, why the library? Yes, it is quiet and rather isolated, but this is still the center of the town. There are simply better and easier places to commit a murder."

Yang interrupted, "What if it's personal? You told me that Brawn is a religious man. Maybe his faith got in the way of someone _else's _faith. What if he has upset someone so terribly that they want to kill him in the cruelest way possible?"

May simply shook her head and replied, "There are still better ways and places to do it. Brawn stays at a small cottage near the outskirts. His night shift lasts until three in the morning, so it will be much easier to ambush him there when he's heading home sleepy and weary, and have much more space to catch him out alone.

On the other hand, Brawn usually stands watch at the post in front of the _gates,_ and it's common sense that if a house has its lights on, then _there maybe someone else inside. _I just don't see the logic of purposely luring Brawn into the library, knowing there can be a second person who may bear witness to the entire crime, which is exactly what have happened here. And perhaps the biggest controversy of all is this: if they killed Brawn, then why didn't they just… kill Elliot as well?"

"How can you be sure Elliot's inside?"

"I told you before, Elliot made plans to celebrate his birthday with Blake at that place, at that time. The birthday cake and the stack of books are solid proof, and I'm telling you, my brother will be sitting right there at the table, moping about and sulking away in his own world while waiting for Blake to arrive; that _insensitive _woman. There is no way the killer could have missed him."

Yang refuted skeptically, "Maybe he's just in the toilet at the right time, you know. It's even right beside the back door. Maybe he saw the killer and Brawn crashing through the front door, panicked, and bolted right there."

"Maybe. And then what? It just doesn't _make sense . _I told you already, if the killer wants to kill Brawn then they could've chosen a quieter place and time. Suppose we turn things around and assume that they want to showboat – would you choose a _library _to flaunt your kill? Obviously we can't predict a person's mind, but –"

May didn't look up to meet Yang in the eye and simply stared wordlessly at the pavement. Before long, she started softly,

"Maybe you're right. I didn't have time to think things through completely – no, your version is actually a lot more plausible. I'm _definitely _not thinking things through. It's… it's just that for some reason, I just can't help but think that Elliot didn't run away, but was _let go _by the killer.

You see, my brother isn't a brave man, but he is no coward either. The three of us, we've been together long enough to see some scary stuff, and although they can't compared at all to today's, I don't believe he would've run away if he saw Brawn in mortal danger. Something must have spooked him _horribly; _I've… I've just _never _seen Elliot like this. He came slamming through the front door waking everyone in the house, before running right into his room and locking himself in there. Papa and mama are probably still trying to coax him out, but I think it's just a waste of time. My room's just next door so I caught a glimpse when he was rushing past, but those bloodshot, fear-soaked eyes… I think he saw something that shocked him down to his core, and for some reason the only thing that came into my mind was Blake.

So I came here running thinking that something terrible has happened to her, but it turns out that she is missing and Brawn is dead. And then I remember that day where she fought like a possessed demon –" Yang shuddered involuntarily, but May did not notice, "– her weekly outings, that the two of them had a promise around that time to celebrate his birthday… somehow all the dots just _connected _for me_. _

No matter how I think about it, I can only come up with these three theories: Either Blake has never shown up for the celebration for whatever reason, or Blake is killed, or Blake _is_ the killer. I think Blake went out as usual to… fight, and somehow she lost control of her frenzy. She managed to keep it under control and made her ways towards the library, but when she reached there, she lost herself and attacked Brawn. When she snapped out of it, it was already too late, then she saw Elliot and Elliot saw her and… well, you know the rest of the story.

She _can _do it. If she can tear an Ursa apart, then this is _nothing. _I mean sure, she still has to be crazy enough to _eat _him, and obviously the first possibility, as you've deduced is the biggest likelihood, but –"

Suddenly May broke into tears, and Yang was completely caught by surprise. The young girl buried herself in her arms and cried,

"_Blake Belladonna! Why? _You always pretend that everything's fine, you always tell no one about your true intentions, and you always shoulder all the worries in the world to _yourself_. Just why are you always _like this?_ Have you ever trusted us with _anything? _I thought I know you, I even thought that we were friends, but right now I can't even say from the bottom of my heart that you're innocent. Just… _why?_"

* * *

><p>Yang breathed a sigh; she really hated it when people cry. Silently, she wrapped the crying girl within her arms, and stayed that way until the trembling finally stopped. During the short weep, Yang went through again and again the information she currently had, and the scenarios May provided with her about what happened. In her personal opinion, she thought that May Binder hit pretty close to the mark. Obviously, she could not have known that she and Ruby had grievously wounded the black fog Demon this afternoon – which most likely was Blake, or a Demon <em>possessing <em>Blake – and that certainly could be the reason she lost control. By pure strength of will she made it to the library to meet her friend despite her wounds, but she lost it in the end and killed the guard, and… yes, she could accept that theory. It made sense. It gelled.

But in the end, it was still just a theory. Nothing could be proven until the true culprit was found, until the _Demon _was found and be made to spill everything. If it really was Blake Belladonna, she would know. If it _wasn't_ her, then she would know, too. In the end, it all came back down to one thing.

Find the Demon.

She checked the time. Had it really just been twenty minutes? If she had time, Yang was willing to stay a little longer to accompany her new companion, but unfortunately she had already waste too much. So slowly, soothingly, Yang chose her words,

"Hey. Listen. You've done well. You've done really well, you hear? So go back to your home now and stay with your brother, okay? He needs you. I don't need to tell you, but please walk in a group to ensure your safety, alright?"

May looked up at her in a slight daze, "Huh? Okay, sure, but what about you?"

"Me?" Yang said simply, "I'm going to hunt down the killer before it causes anymore damage."

"_What? _Does that mean Blake really is – is it even safe? I don't know how strong you are, but I don't think you should go –"

Yang laughed merrily to abate the young girl's panic, before saying, "Don't worry about me; I'm not alone in this one. Anyway, you just leave that part to me – I _am _a Huntress after all. Now that topic's done, I want you to answer a last couple of questions. Do you trust Blake?"

"_Huh? _Why so sudden? What does it have anything to do with –"

"Yes, or no. Do you trust Blake Belladonna?"

May noted the dead seriousness in Yang's eyes, and finally quieted down. Slowly she pressed her fingers together harder and harder, until they're pale white before whispering, "… She is a lousy loner and an annoying grump. I don't like her. But… yes."

"Do you _want _her to be innocent?"

May stared at the blonde with her mouth slightly agape, but Yang did not say anything further. Before long, May answered again, "If she is truly guilty, then I will see to it myself that she is punished by our laws no matter what. But… _yes_."

Yang laughed, "Hahaha! Okay, last question then. Do you want to help her?"

May gave her a strange look, "Help her _what? _That's way too broad, I –"

"You know what I mean," Yang cut her off right there and then, "Yes or no, May Binder. After everything that has happened, do you still wish from the bottom of your heart to help Blake? To _save _her?"

May closed her eyes altogether with a tight expression, and whispered, "What does it matter? What I want does not equal what I need, nor what I must."

"That doesn't matter right now."

"She is still missing. She can be dead already. Seriously, what's the point?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"She lies often. She hides too many secrets. Maybe she was just pretending to be our friend all this time, when deep down she is only a bloodthirsty _monster _who has finally unmasked herself. Why should I help her? Why should I even _care?_"

"Only you can answer that," Yang said gently, "And you don't need to do so now. All you need to tell me is this: Do you want to save her?"

May Binder's lips parted open, the closed, then opened again, and before she knew it tears were streaming down her cheeks once more. But for some reason, Yang did not feel anywhere near the discomfort she felt before. In fact, her heart felt almost… warmed.

"_Yes."_

* * *

><p>"So. Does that answer your question?"<p>

"Sorry. I'm still not getting it," Ruby answered honestly, "Your story changes nothing, except that I'm surer than ever now that this Blake Belladonna is the killer. I feel like it makes _less _sense than before why you'll want to protect her. Even if I suppose that you want to honor your promise to save her…" Ruby glanced over to the black-haired woman again, and felt her eyes narrowed, "… perhaps killing her is the better mercy."

But Yang simply laughed away the grim notion like it was nothing, "Haha! Well, maybe you're right. Maybe Blake herself thinks that way. Until sleeping beauty herself wakes up and tells us her thoughts, we won't know. It's just that…" Yang raised a palm to the sky, and let lit a clutch of tiny flames at the tip of her fingers, and watch them sway against the wind,

"When I see the depth of emotion this Blake Belladonna have caused among her friends, when I remember how far May is willing to go and trust, and protect, and save _her_ despite believing that she is the murderer, I just… I just can't see her as a Demon or a monster. To my understanding, Demons are beings that will only bring pain and misery to all those around them. No one will weep their hearts out for a creature like that. No one will even care so deeply, nor feel so conflicted to condemn a true monster to its death, much less wanting to _save _its life.

So even if Blake may be a monster in body, I will believe that she has a human heart. Even if Blake herself may think that her life isn't worth living for, I still think she deserves a chance, and there are certainly people out there who want her to _live_ despite everything that have happened. Of course, we have to be practical, and if she awoke as a Demon then yes, we _will_ put her down. But otherwise… well. What do you say, Ruby? "

Yang looked up towards Ruby with an expectant look in her eyes. Ruby snapped out of her reverie, and refocused her attention back onto Yang. Her cocky friend was smiling, golden hair fluttering lightly against the swirls of wind. Confident, sure, a bundle of stupid lively energy that never wavers away from her chosen path. For some reason Ruby felt shy and perhaps a hint of shame, and as she pulled her red hood over the face she muttered quietly,

"Fine. I will spare that… _woman's _life, for now. I still don't really understand your meaning, but I will give a chance. I will try to… understand. But you will be responsible for her everything. Are you fine with that?"

"You mean, am I fine with not having to stay awake forever and ever? _Hell yes! _Do you have any idea how –"

All the sudden Yang's eyes rolled upwards, and the blonde toppled face first to the ground and did not get up. Ruby instinctively rushed forwards thinking that the demonic woman had harmed her friend, but when the snores began Ruby froze in her tracks, then relaxed. Of course. They had trekked far and long since they departed from Bamborsa, and even Ruby was feeling intense fatigue and muscle pain biting into her bones. It was far more surprising that Yang hadn't passed out earlier. Ruby sighed inside her heart and stared quietly at her friend's unmoving figure – did she really believe that she would keep her promise? Was she truly so naïve and trusting? Suddenly Ruby felt the unmistakable temptation to kill Blake Belladonna there and then and expose Yang to the harsh reality of the world, but in the end she kept her hands firmly away from Crescent Rose. One day, Yang would have to face many difficult decisions. One day, Yang would be torn by the choices she made. One day, she might even lose faith in what she believed in and be changed forever.

But it would not be today, and not by her hands. Yang was her friend, her partner, and if she would ever dare to admit it aloud, her _sister – _even if it was only in name. And just as how Summer Rose had cared for a miserable little runt like her, she too would defend Yang Xiao Long unto the end of Remnant. Ruby Rose allowed herself a secret smile, and set herself down beside a nearby tree. Normally, she would not choose to rest at an open plain like this, but she supposed that today could be an exception. The young girl glared one last time at the still unconscious Blake Belladonna slumbering peacefully atop her mumbling partner, and closed her eyes. _Not today. _

A few minutes later, she too succumbed to the warm sunlight and sank peacefully into oblivion.

* * *

><p>A pair of eyelids cracked open to reveal a gap, as yellow eyes flickered about to get a firm grasp of the situation. A long, pale arm then stretched and reached towards the hilt of a pitch black blade, as the other slowly but deftly undoing the buckle that held it in place. She betrayed not the slightest emotions, and even the soft shuffling sounds of metals and leather were lost to the howling wind. Slowly, steadily, biding with infinite patience for the moment she attained release.<p>

… _HahaHAHa._

* * *

><p><em>I am Blake Belladonna. <em>

_Born like any other, raised with the greatest love a mother could ever give._

_But my blood is tainted, my fate accursed from the very moment I exist. Even the lives around me are not spared from the malice of the world. _

_I am the cause of my mother's death._

_I am the destroyer of my home._

_I am the reaper of countless lives._

_And in the end, I wish I could just die._

_But even in death I cannot find release, and the world seeks still to toy me until I break again, and again, and again._

_I am tired. I am weary. I am sick of this game of torture without end in sight._

_I had ENOUGH._

_No longer will I beg, or grovel, or weep._

_No longer will I lament, or despair, or give in._

_If this is my eternal destiny, then I will change it._

_If this is the only future I have, then I will make my own._

_If this is the chains of the world, then I will tear them apart with all my might!_

_Above the darkness, above the shame. Above the hatred, and above the pain._

_I am Blake Belladonna. I am returned. The world cannot hold me._

**_And I will be free._**


End file.
